Our friends bought us a couple and before I got them I wanted to make sure I knew what I needed and at least was a little bit prepared. I figured I would share with you what I learned. But don’t let me fool you. I usually just hop right in and learn as I go.

Housing

Let’s start with housing for your ducks. My plan was to just put my new ducks in with my chickens but I figured I should do a little research first. Here is what I found.

What shelter do ducks need?

Ducks are very tough animals. They do very well with little coverage. Unlike chickens who need lots of space and are very picky when it comes to housing, ducks are not picky at all. If you provide ducks with a place to get out of the elements they will be happy.

Ducks don’t mind the weather but if there is extreme weather such as hail, storms, etc. They like to have a place to go to.

If you live in Michigan like me and have lots of snow and cold it is nice for them to have a place to get their feet out of the snow. Even if they don’t have a coop off of the ground if you can give them a little extra straw or hay so that they can have something to stand on they will be happy.

What do ducks need in winter?

• A place to keep their feet dry

As I mentioned above make sure to have a good layer of straw in their pen or coop. Another thing you can do it lay down some wood and then the hay or straw. This way if they move around the hay or straw they will still have the wood instead of the cold ground.

How cold is too cold for ducks?

Ducks can handle temperatures as low as 20 degrees. They generally are okay if it dips down below that but you just want to watch and make sure they are taken care of. If the temperatures dip below that for too long and they don’t have a place to get their feet out of the cold they can develop frostbite on their feet.

If you have a pen or coop lined with straw or hay you should be totally fine. You can also put a light in their coop and you will have no worries at all. Chickens start getting fussy when the temperatures dip below 45, so the fact that ducks can handle colder temperatures was a huge bonus to me.

The reason ducks do better in the cold is that they were created with a nice thick layer of body fat and waterproof feathers.

What do ducks sleep in?

Ducks will sleep in their pen! Unlike chickens, who want to roost and have their nesting boxes ducks don’t need any of that. Ducks are very low maintenance. They actually prefer to have just a pen with some straw or hay on the bottom. They will make their own little bed in the corners of the coop or pen.

It is important that you have some kind of shelter for your duck to go into at night so that it can stay safe. If you choose to free-range your ducks that if perfectly okay, they just need to be away from the threat of predators at night. You really don’t need anything fancy.

Even an old dog house will work. They are not picky they just want a dry and safe place to lay their head at night. Just make sure that their shelter is fenced in so that they are safe while they sleep.

How many square feet do you need per duck?

Ducks need 3-5 square feet apiece inside of the pen or coop. And they need about 15 square feet in the run. But remember if you are keeping them in the run during the day you will need to have a kiddie pool for them.

So when you are figuring out your measurements make sure to account for each duck and the pool. Unless your ducks have access to a pond and will be able to free-range during the day and get to the water. That leads to the next topic…

Feeding

Now onto feeding your ducks. There are lots of questions when it comes to feeding ducks and hopefully, we will go over most of them today. I will be talking about your pet/farm ducks but ducks are ducks and the answers to these questions will apply to wild ducks as well. If anything wild ducks are even hardier then your domesticated ducks.

A balanced diet

You want to make sure your ducks have a well-balanced diet. You will feed your ducks about 90% pellets. (If they are not free-range) But you want to also feed them your food scraps and if they have access to free-range they will eat other things as well.

Here is some duck food on amazon. Check into the pricing because I am sure it will be cheaper at your local store I just wanted to show you want to look for.

How much do ducks eat in a day?

This will really depend on the type of ducks you have and if you are raising them for meat or eggs. But you can guess that your ducks will eat 7oz – 10 oz a day. When you compare this to chickens it is about the same or a little more than your chickens will eat.

But if you decide to free-range you really don’t have to feed them at all. You will probably just want a little feed to give them at night to get back into their pen.

If you have both ducks and chickens they can eat the same thing. And a little tip: try going to your local grain mill and see if they sell feed. I am able to get the feed from my local mill for anywhere between $20-$25 for 100 lb.

This will cut down on your feeding cost by quite a bit.

Is it okay to feed ducks bread?

It is okay to feed ducks bread. But there are better options. If you are only feeding your ducks bread then just like us humans they will not be getting the proper food groups they need.

They will be malnourished if all they ever get is bread. The problem with the bread more falls into the wild duck category in ponds where tourists come and all the ducks get is bread. If you are feeding your ducks a good diet and throw them some bread every now and then they will be fine.

Can you feed ducks rice?

Yes, you can feed your ducks rice. They actually really love rice and the cool thing is that you can feed them rice cooked or uncooked. You just want to make sure that the rice is not moldy. This goes for the bread as well. Ducks can get very sick from mold.

Can you feed ducks popcorn?

Yes, you can feed ducks popcorn. But as I mentioned above it most common to feed ducks bread, popcorn and other types of junk food. Just like us, they need a balanced diet.

What do ducks eat in the wild?

When we talk about ducks and if they can survive without food and if they can withstand the winter we forget that there are wild ducks and they do just fine on their own.

Wild ducks will eat…

1. Insects
2. Frogs
3. Algae
4. Plants
5. Grass
6. Leaves
7. Weeds
8. Crayfish
9. Seeds
10. Grains
11. Snails
12. Worms
13. Slugs
14. Fish
15. Fish eggs

So if your ducks have the ability to free-range they can get a lot of their own food and this will also cut down on your food bill. Obviously, if your ducks are locked up and do not have access to these things they will need to be taken care of with other means.

If your ducks are not able to free-range take a look at this list and try to feed these things to your ducks.

I will provide you with a few ideas on how to do this.

1. Mow your lawn and then rake up the grass and feed the grass clippings to your ducks.
2. Clean out your pond (if you have one) and feed what you got out of your pond to your ducks.
3. Rake your yard and give all of the leaves to your ducks
4. Weed your garden and throw all of your weeds into the duck pen.
5. Go fishing and feed the smaller fish to your ducks

Any of these ideas would be a great way to help supplement your ducks feed and are a much healthier diet for your ducks than just giving them all pellets.

What to feed ducklings?

You will feed your baby ducks the same as you do the adult ducks. The only difference is that you will give them starter feed which looks like this.

Watering

How much water do ducks drink a day?

Ducks need a lot of water. They will need about 1 liter of water a day. (per duck) They also like to put their whole head in the water so if you don’t have a kiddie pool or a place for them to do this make sure your water dish is deep enough for them to submerge their head.

How long can ducks go without water?

Ducks can go about 8 hours without water. It is best to make sure they have fresh food and water twice a day. If you set up a system so that they can have access to food and water all day this will be best!

Ducklings need food and water constantly until they are 4-6 weeks old. They are so small at this point that I would not risk letting them run out of food or water.

Do ducks need water overnight?

Ducks do not need water overnight. They will most likely sleep most of the night so this will not be a problem. If you make sure to keep your ducks fed and watered throughout the day then they will be perfectly fine.

But if you have their water just always available day and night you don’t even have to think about it. That is what we have. But again remember that your ducks are very hardy animals. They can go a few days without food and they will be fine.

What is the best way to water ducks?

The tricky part about watering ducks or really any animal is keeping the water clean. Ducks especially like to get into their water and make a mess of it. So what is the best way to do this?

Well…

Make sure that you separate their drinking water and “playing” water if you can. If they don’t have access to a pond then you can put a kiddie pool in their run for them to splash around in.

This way you can keep their drinking water a little cleaner. Well maybe…They still like to make a mess.

As far as a waterer you can make a DIY Waterer or you can buy one.

We made a waterer for our chickens that will work just fine for ducks as well. If you want to see how we made that you can see that here. But if you want to buy one they will look something like this.

Just remember that your ducks will need a lot of water. So if you have lots of ducks you will want a waterer that will hold quite a bit of water. Honestly, our DIY waterer is a great idea for ducks. And is very affordable.

Free ranged ducks

How to train free-range ducks

So last but definitely not least…training your free-range ducks. We talked about how they don’t know how to come back to their pen at night so can they be truly free-ranged? or will they go off of your land and not come back?

Your free-ranged ducks will wander and if they get too far they could get hurt because they have no way to protect themselves. So it would not be a bad idea to just have a mesh fence around the area that you want to keep your ducks.

Like I said they will usually stay fairly close but you just never know. So you can test it and see what happens.

Free-range pros and cons

I am always an advocate of free-range but there can be some drawbacks. Let’s take a look at a few pros and cons.

Pros

1. Your ducks will have the healthiest diet
2. Your ducks will be the happiest with unlimited space
3. your ducks will stay healthier with all the room and fresh air
4. Your ducks will eat lots of insects

Cons

1. Your ducks (most likely) can’t fly so they can’t get away from predators
2. Your ducks will be out roaming so you will have to go bring them in each night
3. Your ducks might eat things you don’t want them to (such as your landscaping or garden)
4. Your ducks will lay their eggs anywhere so you will have to search for your eggs (if you have egg layers)

These are just a few of the things to consider when you are deciding whether you should free-range or keep them in a pen.

Ducks and chickens

As I mentioned we had chickens already and I wanted to put my new ducks in with my chickens but I was not sure how they would do so I wanted to do a little research to see if the chickens and ducks would do okay together and this is what I found.

Do ducks and chickens eat the same food?

Yes, ducks and chickens eat the same food. You might have a problem doing this because the ducks might eat all the food. But test it out and see what happens. You can always let the chickens to the food first so that they can get a little head start.

There is technically chicken and duck food but you can just go ahead and feed your ducks chicken feed. Ducks do need a little bit higher levels of niacin than chickens.

You can add some brewers yeast to their food to help with this. By adding that it will help the ducks bones to grow correctly. And it will be beneficial to the chickens as well.

Will ducks kill chickens?

Ducks can kill chickens. But chickens can also kill each other. There are so many variables. If you try to put chickens and ducks together after they are adults they will most likely try to fight and they could kill each other. If the ducks are trying to mate with the chickens they could kill the chicken. And so on.

So you just want to keep an eye out and if you see anything that does not look right then you may want to think about separating them.

Can ducks and chickens mate?

The duck will be the one trying to mate because it has a sexual organ and the rooster does not. And this can cause problems. They can get aggressive and sometimes even kill the chicken. So again this is just something that you need to keep an eye on.

If you see this becoming a problem you will want to make sure to seperate the duck and the chicken.

Now this does not happen all the time but I just want to put it all out there so that you know what could happen and just to keep an eye out.

Conclusion

Homesteading is so fun and always keeps me coming back for more. It is so awesome to try new things and experience things with my kids. They love taking care of the chickens and were so excited to get ducks. I try to be prepared before we get something new and learn a little bit about it before we start.

I really did not know that much about ducks before we started this journey and I was so thankful to get a little knowledge under my belt before we welcomed these little guys into our homestead.

I would say that the biggest takeaways before you get your ducks would be…

Housing

1. Make sure you have a pen. Your ducks will need a place to get out of the elements and get their feet off of the ground. They don’t need anything fancy. They don’t need nesting boxes or even a place to roost. All they need is a simple pen.
2. Make sure your ducks have 3-5 square feet in their pen and 15 square feet in the run. (If they are not free-ranging. If they are all you have to worry about is the pen.)

Feeding

1. Make sure your ducks have a balanced diet. This can be from free-ranging or from pellets. Or could also be a mixture of both.
2. Feed them a healthy diet. Just like humans, it is not good for them to be filled up with bread. So you can feed them bread, popcorn, Rice and so on but just don’t let that be the bulk of their diet.

Watering

1. Ducks need lots and lots of water. If they can have access to a pond this is the best thing for them. If that’s, not an option a kiddie pool is fine. But Try to keep their drinking water and their playing water separate.
2. They can go about 8 hours without water but its best to keep them constantly watered.

Free-ranged ducks

1. Free ranged ducks can fulfill their dietary needs from the wild if you allow them to free-range or they can be fed pellets.
2. Free ranged ducks can be let loose but it is best to surround their area with mesh to keep them safe from predators.
3. They can be put outside at 7-9 weeks.
4. If you want your ducks to free range you will need to train them to come back at night.

Ducks and chickens

1. Ducks and chickens can live together
2. They usually won’t harm each other but just keep on eye on them
3. They will try to mate so keep an eye on that as well

I hope this was helpful to you as you prepare for your next part of your homesteading journey. Whether you have ducks for eggs, food or just as a pet I hope you have fun with your ducks!

A couple more articles that might interest you…

I love when a plant has multiple purposes. Speaking of which I knew that you could use chives on a baked potato and it looks pretty but what other uses does it have? Are there any health benefits to chives? I did a little research and figured I would share it with you. Here is what I found.

So…

What can chives be used for?

• Cooking and Baking
• Health
• Landscaping

Chives can be used for a number of things but the 3 basics would be the list I have provided above.

Let’s dig a little deeper…

Cooking and baking with chives

Can you cook with chives?

Yes, you can cook with chives! Like I mentioned I thought that chives were just used as a topping or a garnish. But I was wrong there are lots of recipes that use chives. I did learn that it is best to add the chives in at the end though so you can retain that strong onion flavor.

What foods are the best with chives?

You can obviously put chives in anything that you like an onion flavor but generally, the foods you find chives in the most would be salads, soups, sandwiches, potatoes, and omelets.

What part of the chive do you use for cooking?

When using chives in cooking you will use the stem of the plant. It depends on what you are making but you will usually cut it like the picture shown above.

Is the flower edible?

Yes, it is! A chives flower is generally used in salads. You will just rinse the flower and put it in your salad raw. It will have the same flavor as the stem just a different texture.

Are chives and garlic chives the same thing?

No, chives and garlic chives are not the same things.

Normal chives have an onion flavor. Garlic chives have a garlic flavor. Just like fresh garlic, garlic chives have a very strong aroma. Whereas chives are much more subtle then onions.

How to use chives in a salad?

As I mentioned above you can use either part of the plant in your salad. You will want to wash your chives and after that, you can either cut the stem and put that into your salad or you can put the purple flower in your salad. Both are great. You will want to eat them raw!

Do you need to wash chives?

Yes, you should wash chives. If you grow your own chives you know that they won’t be covered in spray or chemicals. But it is still a good idea to wash your homegrown food.

On the other hand, if you bought your chives then you definitely want to wash them. They will have all the nasty sprays and chemicals on them.

Recipes using chives

You can use chives in really anything that onion would taste good in. But today I will share 5 ideas to get your wheels turning.

1. Chive Eggs (3 ways)

So you technically get 3 recipes here! Deviled eggs are one of our favorite foods around the holidays (or anytime really) and adding the chives really adds another layer of flavor.

Chive deviled eggs

Ingredients

• 1 dozen eggs hard-boiled, peeled and sliced in half
• 5 Tablespoons of mayonnaise.
• 2 Tablespoons of spicy mustard
• ¼ Teaspoon of paprika
• 1 dozen chive stems chopped fine
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients except chives, paprika, and eggs
2. Separate the hard-boiled yolks from the egg whites and place them in the bowl with the other ingredients.
3. Spoon mixture into egg white halves.
4. Sprinkle with Paprika and chives

Eggs with chive flowers

Because of our farm fresh eggs, we tend to consume a lot of eggs around our house. But they can get boring making them the same way all the time. Adding chives to our eggs help make eating eggs a little more exciting.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons butter
• 2 chive stems with chive flowers
• 2 eggs
• Salt

Instructions

1. In a small pan, heat the butter over medium-low heat.
2. Cut the stems of your chives and leave the flower whole.
3. Place your chives pieces in the heated butter for 30 seconds.
4. Crack the eggs into the pan, add a sprinkle of salt.
5. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until the egg whites are cooked but the yolk is still runny.

Scrambled Eggs with chives

Again this is very simple but the chives give it a new level of flavor.

Ingredients

• Eggs
• Chives
• Bacon, other veggies, cheese, whatever toppings you like

Instructions

1. Prepare other toppings for eggs if using
2. Make scrambled eggs (Scrambled egg tip: keep stirring! never let your eggs sit in the pan)
3. Cut up your chives
4. Put your chives and toppings on top of your eggs.

2. Chive Butter

This seems overly simple but trust me it is so yummy! Herb butter is so good. My favorite way to use it is to melt it on my steak.

Ingredients

• Butter
• Chives

Instructions

1. Soften butter
2. Cut chives
3. Mix chives into butter

3. Loaded baked potato

I know potatoes should be eaten in limitations but they are so yummy. And I promise you will love this one. I mean how can you not?

Ingredients

1. Potatoes
2. Chives
3. Cheese
4. Bacon

Instructions

1. Bake the potatoes.

You can bake your potatoes in different ways but I will share the 2 ways I like to bake mine.

• In the oven

The way I baked potatoes before I owned an instant pot was in the oven. This is my process.

1. Wash potatoes
2. Rub olive oil over potatoes
3. Salt potatoes
4. Poke holes in potatoes with a fork
5. Wrap each potato in tin foil
6. Bake @ 350 for 1 hour

This way takes a little longer but it is so worth it. It makes the skin of the potato so crunchy. But if you don’t have time for this method you can make your baked potatoes in the instant pot and it will work just as well.

• In the instant pot

What’s nice about the instant pot is that you can have your potatoes done so much quicker.

1. Wash potatoes
2. Pour a cup of water into the instant pot
3. Place trivet into the pot
4. Poke holes in potatoes with a fork
5. Place potatoes on top of the trivet
6. Select manual setting; adjust the pressure to high, and set the timer for 14 minutes
7. When the potatoes are done cooking, naturally release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions, about 20-30 minutes.

2. Top the potatoes

Now that you have your baked potatoes you will top them with your chives, cheese, bacon, etc.

In my family, we have to have meat to make a meal. We love bacon but sometimes we need a little more than that. So I will make pulled pork and we will put that on our potatoes. Our favorite is potatoes, pulled pork, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chives.

4. Chive Pesto

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped fresh, chives
• 2 TBS. slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 1/8 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Mix the chives, almonds, cheese, and garlic into the bowl of your food processor.
2. Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped.
3. With the machine running, add olive oil to desired consistency
4. Serve on crackers, or slices of toasted bread

5. Chive Vinnegeratte

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Enjoy over salad

Super simple but so yummy! As I said there are lots of ways to cook with chives. These are just a few but experiment and see what ways you love to eat chives.

Health

I like to think that anything “natural” should have some health benefits. So I did some digging to found out about chives. I wanted to know if chives had any health benefits. And this is what I found.

Since I am not a doctor and I don’t know the science behind this stuff I did some research and found the following information from Medical News today. You can check out their article for even more information. This is just scratching the surface of the health benefits of chives!

Some health facts about chives…

1. Chives are full of nutrients.
2. Chives are low in calories
3. Chives are full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
4. Chives have vitamin k, folate, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and choline.

So the above list provides the more scientific properties of chives. But what does that mean to us? Well, the 2 most important benefits would be…

1. Cancer Prevention: Chives can help your body fight off cancer
2. Sleep: chives have something in them called choline. Choline is an important nutrient that helps with sleep

Landscape

How pretty are those? As I mentioned my mom gave me a chives plant last year and it not only is great to have fresh herbs at my disposal but it is also pretty in my landscaping.

Are chives and annual or perennial?

Chives are perennial. This means that they will come back year after year. They are very hearty and super easy to keep alive. They grow in a grasslike clump and grow from small bulbs.

Are chives invasive?

Common chives are not invasive but will multiple.

Let me explain what I mean. The common chives will get bigger which is great because you can separate it and re-plant it. But it will not take over the area it is planted in. And it pulls out very easy so if it is getting bigger than you would like than you can just pull part of the plant out.

Do chives like sun or shade?

Chives are super hearty so they will grow just about anywhere you put them. But they will thrive in the sun. So if you have the option do your best to plant them in the sun. And if you are growing them indoors put them in a window that lets in lots of sun.

Do chives keep growing after you cut them?

Yes, chives continue to grow back after you cut them.

When you harvest your chives cut them down to 1-2 inches from the ground. You will be able to cut them about 4 times a year. (Depending on where you live)

How do you stop chives from spreading?

As I said chives will spread. So how do you stop them from spreading? Well, first let’s look at the 2 ways chives spread. Chives spread from…

1. The bulbs
2. The seeds

The first way chives spread is by the bulbs. So your plant will get bigger and bigger each year and this is from its bulbs multiplying. But what about those random patches that started growing?

Well, chives can also grow from the seeds. So if you let your chives bloom and then the blooms wilt the seeds can blow and start a whole new plant.

If you want to stop this from happening you will just make sure to cut down the chives before they can get to this stage. Which if you are wanting to eat the chives you will be doing this already anyway.

Do Chives have deep roots?

No, chives do not have deep roots. Their roots are only about 3 inches deep. Which makes it a breeze to pull out if your plant is getting too big.

Why are my chives yellow?

They are unhealthy. Most likely you tried to transplant them and it was not the ideal time to transplant and they are not liking their new home. The best time to transplant chives is in the fall or winter.

Do chives attract bugs?

No, chives do not attract bugs. Actually, they keep the bad bugs away. Most of the insects that will mess with your plants will not like the smell of chives and will stay away.

What can I plant next to chives?

You can pretty much plant anything next to chives. They are not a very “competitive” plant and do very well with other plants. The best option is to plant them with your other herbs.

What else?

Now we have talked about cooking with chives but what else should we know about chives? or how about we start with the simple question of…

What are chives?

Chives are an herb.

According to science chives are part of the allium family. The allium family also includes garlic, scallions, onions, and leeks. As you can see this family of veggies are known for their strong smell but also are famous for their medicinal purposes.

Chives are a perennial plant and are most commonly found in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Chives are a common herb and can be found in most grocery stores. You can also grow your own without much effort.

There are actually 2 different types of chives. There is the onion chive which is the one that most of us are familiar with. Or there is the Chinese chive which is also referred to as the garlic chive. They are pretty self-explanatory in their flavor and the only other difference would be their leaves. The onion chives have hollow leaves while the garlic chives have flat leaves.

Are chives and green onions the same thing?

No, chives and green onions are not the same things. In the US we sometimes use them interchangeably but they are in fact not the same thing.

These are green onions

Green onions have long green stalks and white bulbs. Green onions have a mild onion flavor and are used raw or cooked. They start growing in the spring and carry on through the summer. They are part of the Allium schoenoprasum species.

My favorite way to use green onions would be as a topping on Mexican food.

These are chives

Chives have green blades, hollow stalks, and practically invisible bulbs. They have an onion flavor but it is very weak. Chives are generally used as a garnish on things like eggs, potatoes, and salads. You can cook chives but they are commonly eaten raw. Just like green onions, they will start blooming in the spring and continue into the summer. Chives are in the Allium fistulosum species.

I have found that chives are best when used as a garnish on hard-boiled eggs.

Are chives still good after they flower?

Yes, chives are still good after they flower. We talked about this a little already but you can use the stems and the flower for eating. Most people use the stem and you can use the stem before the flower comes but you can also use the flower as well.

Try it for your self and see which you prefer.

Can you freeze chives?

Yes, You can freeze chives.

This is awesome because they are so nice to have all year long and my plant produces more then I can eat fresh. Freezing chives is very simple. Here is how you do it.

1. Chop chives
2. Wash chives
3. Place in freezer bags
4. Freeze

Frozen chives will last indefinitely in the freezer. But they will most likely start losing their flavor and quality at 4-6 months.

How to store chives?

There are multiple ways to store chives. I already mentioned the freezer but I wanted to mention some other ways you can store chives.

1. Freeze dry

This is so cool I had no clue you could do this! So all you do to freeze-dry chives is…

• Chop chives
• place on a cookie sheet
• Put the cookie sheet into the freezer
• Remove cookie sheet when chives are dry and brittle
• Store in an airtight jar in a cool dark place for up to 6 months.

2. Refridgerator

There are 2 ways to store chives in the fridge

1. Keep chives in a resealable plastic bag. They will last this way for about a week.
2. Place the stems standing up in a glass filled with a few inches of water and cover the tops of the stems with a plastic bag.

3. Dehydrating

So first of all Dehydrators are awesome. If you don’t have one and like to store food for yourself then you should seriously consider getting one. I have a whole article talking about what we do with ours and what one we have. You can check it out here.

Okay, now how to dehydrate chives.

• Put your chives on the dehydrator trays.
• Put the temperature to 95 Degrees
• Keep the chives in the dehydrator for 2 hours

How to use dried chives?

First of all, let’s talk about the amount. How much-dried chives equal fresh?

1 tablespoon fresh chives equal 1 teaspoon dried.

So you can use dried chives in anything you would use fresh for. For example, you can put dried chives in mashed potatoes, Eggs, Etc. You will obviously just want to use the suggested conversion amount I have provided above. But the fun thing about cooking is that it is up to your own taste buds. So play around with it and see what you like.

Now, what about taste? Do dried chives taste the same?

This is clearly going to be an opinion based answer. But Dried chives taste like straw. They don’t have much flavor and the texture is not the best. But don’t take my word for it try it for yourself. You might not mind it.

The nice thing about dried chives is that they last for up to 3 years. So if you have some that you need to store its worth a shot preserving them in this way. But I would suggest the other methods of storing for sure.

The other thing about drying your chives is that with this method they will lose some of their nutrients. So yes, drying your chives is not the ideal option but I wanted to let you know that it is still a way to preserve your chives.

How long do chives last?

If you are growing your own chives I would recommend that you let them grow for as long as possible without cutting them down. I’m sure it’s not that best way but I let mine stay out there and just cut them down as needed and have never found that it affected them to stay out longer.

But if you can’t let them stay outside or you are buying them fresh how long will chives stay fresh? Well, it depends on the method. Let’s look at the different methods real fast.

• Freezer= 4-6 months
• Freeze dried= 4-6 months
• Refriderater= 1 week
• Dehydrated= 2-3 years

As you can see dehydrated will definitely last the longest. And honestly, there are ways you could use your dried chives and still reap the benefits of the flavor but not deal with the nasty texture. One way would be to make a powder out of your dried chives for salads or as a topping for potatoes. And if you don’t like it no big deal. Chives are very cheap or free if you grow them yourself.

Conclusion

You did not know you could do so much with chives, did you? I sure did not! Chives were one of those things that I never thought much about until I had one simple question which led me to more questions and then I went all into learning about chives. I hope this was helpful to you and that you learned a few new ways to store chives and a few random things as well.

It is so awesome learning about the things that We can grow and the ways they can help our bodies and add flavor to our favorite foods. If you know of someone who has some extra chives see if they would mind if you took some to start growing your own. It is an easy way to add another thing to your garden/landscaping/homestead that will get you closer to becoming self-sufficient.

I most likely will not ever become 100% self-sufficient and I’m okay with that. But I strive to do as much on my own as I can and even though something likes growing chives might seem small, it’s all the little things that start to add up. And before you know it you will be growing all your own food.

Also, a side note when it comes to herbs I never seem to have them at the exact time I need them so when I grow them I am sure they will be there when I need them. Well Unless my animals or kids get to them first!

If you want some more gardening helps make sure to check out some of my other articles!

Apple pie Filling

• 5 cups of apples
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• Dash of salt
• 2-3 TB. of Flour
• 4 TB. pf butter

Pie Assembly

• Crimp pie crust
• Put filling into pie crust
• place second pie crust on top
• Crimp
• Bake @ 400 for 30 minutes

Mulberry Identification

Are there similar berries that are toxic?

As I was researching to make sure that mulberries are safe I came across one berry that looks similar. The poke Weed Now you don’t have to panic if you happen to consume one because they are not poisonous per se. But if you have more then a couple you might start to experience nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea. People have actually used part of the plant in herbal medicines to induce vomiting.

So as you can see you probably want to stay away from eating pokeweed berries. But how will you know what the difference is between pokeweed and a mulberry?

Well…

pokeweed is a bush type plant Vs. mulberries grow on trees.

Pokeweed will get to about 5 feet Vs. the mulberry tree at 65 feet.

Pokeweed leaves will be about twice the size of a mulberry tree leaf.

Here is a picture of a pokeweed plant.

What is a mulberry?

A mulberry is a fruit that is large and juicy and resembles a raspberry. A mulberry is filled with nutrients that our bodies need. These include…

1. Iron
2. Riboflavin
3. Vitamin C
4. Vitamin K
5. Potassium
6. Phosphorous
7. Calcium
8. Fiber

I love my THM baked goods and make them quite often. My husband is always making sure that he is allowed to have them on Keto because they most always have baking blend in them. I was pretty sure it was okay but I wanted to check the ingredients just to make sure. So is THM baking blend keto-friendly?

Yes! The THM baking blend is keto-friendly. Actually, the THM baking blend is a much better option than even almond flour or coconut flour. It’s not that those are bad but they are very “heavy” or “dense”. They are a lot of calories. That’s not terrible but you do want to be careful not to have really calorie-heavy foods all the time.

When people start the keto diet they think “Cheese, nuts, and meat!” Which yes those are all technically allowed on keto but you will have a hard time losing weight if you just have those things. You need to make sure you have lots of greens and low carb veggies in your diet.

Anyway, back to the baking blend!

We have now figured out that the THM baking blend is, in fact, keto-friendly but…

What is the Trim Healthy Mama baking blend?

Trim Healthy mama baking blend is a gluten-free, low glycemic baking mix.

The baking blend is a mixture of Oat Fiber, Organic Coconut Flour, Golden Flax Meal, Blanched Almond Flour, Collagen Peptides, Glucomannan (organic konjac extract powder).

THM baking blends Ingredients/Benefits

If you look at the ingredients of the baking blend ( Oat Fiber, Organic Coconut Flour, Golden Flax Meal, Blanched Almond Flour, Collagen Peptides, Glucomannan (organic konjac extract powder) You will notice the ingredients that make up the baking blend are very healthy for you. Let me tell you a little bit about each ingredient and why it is good for you.

• Oat Fiber

Oat fiber is a good source of insulable fiber. Insulable fiber is best explained as “roughage” or the digestive part of the plant. Oat fiber when consumed can help tremendously with bowel or digestive issues.

• Coconut flour

Now when I said that coconut flour and almond flour were heavier on calories that did not mean that it was unhealthy it just means that if you want to lose weight you want to be a little more careful with how much and how often you use it. Coconut flour has many benefits as well.

Coconut flour is a gluten-free flour made from coconuts. It is full of fiber and MCT oil. Just like the oat fiber, it will help your digestive system but it will also help with heart health and will work to regulate your blood sugar.

• Golden Flax Meal

I could spend all day on the benefits of golden flax meal. (which is the same as golden flaxseed it is just ground up) But I will try to keep it short and not bore you. I will just give you a quick list of the amazing benefits.

1. Full of nutrients
2. High in Fiber
3. Aids in lowered blood pressure
4. Filled with high-quality protein
5. Help control blood sugar
6. Aids in controlling hunger

• Almond flour

Again almond flour is not bad! It actually has its own list of unique benefits. Just like coconut flour, it is gluten-free flour. But besides that, it is high in protein, manganese & vitamin E.

• Collagen Peptides

Collagen is crazy stuff! Its main benefit is joint strength. But it also makes your hair healthier and nails stronger. I actually have a little testimony about collagen. I get collagen from THM and put it in my oatmeal every day. ( you can take it plain, put it in coffee, etc.) A few months back I could not grow my nails. If they started getting long at all they would start splitting in half. Once I started taking collagen they now are growing long and strong.

• Glucomannan

Glucomannan works in your body to again cholesterol and controls blood sugar. It also helps with weight loss and inflammation in the body.

More about THM Baking Blend

Can I use the THM baking blend in place of almond flour?

I touched on this a little bit already but let’s talk about it more. Yes, you can use the thm baking blend in place of almond flour. As I mentioned it would actually be a good idea because the baking blend is lighter as far as calories go and it is healthier for you.

Is THM baking blend gluten-free?

Yes! The THM baking blend is gluten-free. As I mentioned above it is a great “flour” substitute. The baking blend is great for those trying to lose weight and also those who are looking for a good gluten-free flour. But it will take some time getting used to because the thm baking blend is dryer than traditional flour. Speaking of which…

Can I substitute THM baking blend for flour?

Yes, you can! But you do not want to use even measurements. The baking blend is more “thirsty” than traditional flour and if you use the same amount will leave your baked goods dry and crumbly. I would suggest trying recipes that have already converted so that you don’t get discouraged from the start. Keto and THM are so popular you can pretty much find a recipe for anything!

Here is my favorite cookie recipe. I swear you would never know they were healthy!

Are there Copycat THM baking blend recipes?

Obviously you can tell I love the Trim healthy mama baking blend. I love the taste and health benefits it provides. I feel like the cost is not that bad. By the time you buy everything, you need for the copy cat recipes you are not really going to save that much.

But yes there are copy cat recipes out there. I personally have not made one up myself and can’t take credit for any of the recipes but if you look online you can find multiple bloggers who have come up with copycat recipes.

Like I said for myself I have found that it is worth it to just buy it from the THM store. If you want to try it for yourself you can check it out here.

Quick personal testimony

I am a huge THM fan. I used to get so sick eating the normal American diet and was so thrilled to find THM. I got headaches all the time and had a constant stomach ache. I literally thought it was normal to feel that way. I can’t tell you how much it changed the way I felt when I changed my lifestyle and cut out the white bread and sugars. I don’t work for THM but I feel like I should I love it so much.

Conclusion

When starting a new diet it can be confusing what you can and can’t have. I know when I started my journey I was always questioning things. It is nice to know the things you can have and also the best options. As I said almond flour and coconut flour are keto-friendly but they are very calorie-heavy whereas the thm baking blend it a great mixture of flours and ingredients that offer a lighter flour option.

Whether you are sticking to trim healthy mama or keto the thm baking blend would be the best all-around flour for you to use. It is light in calories and also has very healthy disease-fighting ingredients in it.

If you want to get your hands on some you can follow this link to the trim healthy mama store. If you want to try their other products I would highly recommend them. They are all very high quality and taste great. Their prices are also very reasonable.

I do not have a great digestive system and have always looked for ways to help my gut. It turns out that sprouting will do just that! Anyway, If you are like me then I’m sure you will be interested in how you can sprout your black beans! So how do you sprout blacks beans?

Let me preface this by saying black beans can sometimes be a little tricky and not want to sprout all the way. But if you get just a tiny bit of a sprout you will still reap the benefits!

Okay, let’s get to it.

Sprouting Black Beans

A few tips…

• Ideal Temperature

Try to keep your sprouting beans between 68-70 degrees.

• Make sure the container you use has plenty of ventilation.

You want to make sure that the beans do not mold so you need room for the water do get out.

• Don’t worry about the skins

The skins will most likely fall off of some of the beans. This is totally fine. Whether the skin is on or not will not change the flavor.

The Sprouting Process

Follow these simple steps to sprout your own beans and begin reaping the benefits today!

Supplies

• 1/2 cup beans
• Mason Jar
• Sprouting lids (You can grab them on Amazon here)
• Small container

Instructions

1. Rinse your beans ( get out any debris or dirt)
2. Fill your Jar/Jars 3/4 the way up with water
3. Put beans into the jar
4. Screw on sprouting lid
5. Soak beans overnight
6. Drain and rinse beans
7. Place jar upsidedown and tilted in a jar
8. Rinse and drain 3-4 times a day until sprouts appear
9. Drain well before use (you HAVE to cook before consuming)

Here is a PDF file that you can download and print for future use! Here is what it will look like.

More about sprouting black beans…

Can you eat raw sprouted black beans?

NO! You can’t eat black beans without cooking them. Raw black beans have something in them called phytohemagglutinin which can be toxic. When you are sprouting things mold can become a problem and even if you are careful some might sneak in. It is always safer to just cook your black beans before you eat them.

How long do the beans take to sprout?

Black beans will sprout in 3-4 days. You can plan on using them on day 5 after they have had time to dry out.

Sprouted beans Vs. soaked beans

I always grew up with my mom soaking our beans. I knew it was good because my gut felt so much better after having soaked beans but I had no clue what it did to the bean or why she soaked her beans.

I decided to find out for myself why my mom soaked her beans and if there is a difference between soaking and sprouting. Here is what I learned…

Soaking beans…

Dry beans are chocked full of vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. Like I mentioned my mom always used dry beans growing up. It was partially because it was so much cheaper but also because she could soak her beans which companies do not do with canned beans.

But again why soak beans? Here are 2 reasons why you would want to soak your dry beans.

• Health

When you soak your beans it reduces something called phytic acid. Phytic acid stops our bodies from absorbing certain minerals. So by reducing this your body can absorb more minerals.

Do you ever get gas when you eat beans? This is caused by oligosaccharides. Which is basically a fancy word for sugars that cause gas. By soaking beans it reduces the effect of oligosaccharides in your body.

• Time

By soaking your beans the time you need to cook them goes way down. If you are like me you forget how much time beans take to cook so if I can cut down on that time it really helps me out!

So Is soaking beans the best?

I had never even heard of sprouting beans. I knew about soaking and I thought that was it! The benefits sounded great to me and I was happy with that. Until I learned about sprouting.

Sprouting beans…

It turns out that sprouting beans is a step up from soaking beans. It has the same benefits of soaking beans plus more! These are some of the benefits of sprouting beans.

• Digestion

When you sprout beans they become much easier to digest.

• Higher nutrient count

When the beans sprout it releases nutrients for a new plant. It makes protein easier to digest and carbohydrates as well. This is crazy because an unsoaked or not sprouted bean is hard on my digestive system but once it is soaked or sprouted it all of a sudden is good for my system and helps by system break down other foods.

• Increased Fiber

When beans are not sprouted they can be hard to digest but also our body can’t absorb the good things in the beans such as vitamins and minerals. The other thing we have not really talked about is the fiber.

When we sprout the beans it helps to increase the crude fibers in the bean. The crude fiber is what helps our bodies push out waste and toxins.

• Weight loss

Now, I’m not saying that sprouting your beans makes them magical weight loss beans. But it is possible that when you eat sprouted beans it will help you with portion control because your body is able to break down the elements of the bean and use it properly.

• Antioxidant increase

It is also a possibility that your sprouted beans can higher the antioxidants in your body. Antioxidants defend your cells against harmful molecules.

Soaking vs. Sprouting Conclusion

After going over both soaking and sprouting I have figured out that both are great! But sprouting seems to have more health benefits. So If you can I would recommend sprouting anything that you can not just black beans! If you can’t sprout then at least soak! Either way is better than just eating canned beans from the stores.

Conclusion

We went from knowing that soaking our beans was probably a good idea to learning that sprouting is actually the best way to prepare beans for eating. Soaking is good but sprouting has the best overall health benefits.

We also learned that we can sprout our beans in just a few simple steps and some household supplies. (well besides the sprouting lids).

I hope this article was helpful to you and it expanded your knowledge of sprouting and the benefits it provides to your body. Don’t forget to print off the PDF for future use!

I am all about finding things that help my digestive system and If you are in the same boat this article might be interesting to you!

When I got chickens I had no idea what I was doing. But over the last few years, I have learned what to feed my chickens and what not to feed my chickens. Believe it or not, what you feed your chickens will affect your egg supply (with layers) and growth with (meat birds). So what should you feed your chickens?

1. Poultry Pellets
2. Grains & Corn
3. Table Scraps
4. Grass Clippings & Weeds
5. Calcium Supplement

More on the best chicken diet…

The list I have provided above is the absolute best chicken diet. But if you are not feeding your chickens everything listed above don’t worry! Just like you and I don’t have the perfect diet all the time your chickens won’t either and that is okay. This list is just a good diet to shoot for. When you feed your chickens well you can expect better results from them.

For example, if they don’t have enough food or water their egg production will go down. Or if they don’t have enough calcium their eggshells will be very thin.

I know it seems like a lot but over time you will figure it out! I have had chickens for years now and I am still figuring out the amount of food they need and the ratio of the different types of food.

I wanted to dive a little deeper into each item and explain why its good and a little about it.

1. Poultry Pellets

This will the majority of your chicken’s diet. A poultry pellet has most of the nutrients your chickens will need to lay eggs. They will get vitamins and minerals in the other things you give them but it is sometimes hard to get enough of the things they need in food scraps or clippings. A poultry pellet will guarantee the chicken gets what it needs.

2. Grains and Corn

Just like us, Chickens need a balanced diet. Grains and corn will not provide much protein but will provide your chickens with fiber which will turn into energy.

3. Table Scraps

I feel like table scraps for chickens is always such a big deal. You will read these lists of things you can feed them and things you can’t. Well, guess what? Even though chickens act pretty dumb sometimes they know what they can or cannot eat. I Have literally fed my chickens any and all table scraps and they have been perfectly fine. If it is something they can’t eat they won’t! It is that simple.

I Love feeding my chickens table scraps because I don’t feel like I am ever wasting anything! It is the best form of recycling. They get are scraps and give us fresh eggs. They also get a wider variety in their diet when you give them table scraps.

4. Grass Clippings & weeds

I would love to let my chickens totally free range but I can’t do that because they get into my neighbor’s flowers. But I make sure they whenever I weed I throw my weeds to them and my grass clippings. They love weeds and all the bugs they find in the weeds and clippings.

Grass clippings and weeds will help your chickens lay very “rich” eggs! And again how cool is it that you can take your “waste” and turn it into food!

And there are some weeds that chickens should not have but you really don’t need to worry about it because they know that and will not eat the things that are bad for them.

5. Calcium supplement

So don’t freak out! I am not going to suggest that you go and buy vitamins and supplements for your chickens. I mean you can do this but why would you when you can get it for free?

Again, I am going to share with you how you can “recycle” and get your own calcium supplement for your chickens. All you can to do it save your eggshells and ground them into a powder and put them back in their chicken feed. Sounds crazy but it works!

Now you might not need to do this but if you notice that your chicken’s eggshells are thin that is an indication that they could use some calcium in their diet.

Treats

The items I have listed above are great for a good balanced diet. But what about if you want to give your chickens a treat? I mean they do provide you with farm fresh eggs! A great little reward for you chickens would be…

1. Cabbage
2. Oatmeal
3. Watermelon
4. pumpkins

Chicken Feed Q & A

Now that we have the basics covered I want to take a second to go over a few more commonly asked questions about feeding chickens.

Can you feed chickens chicken scraps?

I already went over this question a little bit but I will expound on it a little more.

As I said from my experience and from things I have read table scraps are safe for your chickens. They are pretty good for the most part at staying away from things they should not have.

If you are super worried about giving them things that they should not have here is a small list you should stay away from feeding your chickens.

1. Chocolate (But let’s be real…who has leftover chocolate?)
2. Green potatoes or green tomatoes.
3. Raw or dry beans

Can Table scraps be a chicken’s full diet?

I kind of already answered this question as well but let’s go over it again. Yes, it is possible for your chickens to “survive” from just table scraps but it is not the best diet for them. They need the fiber and protein from the pellets and the grains Etc.

My chickens have gone with just scraps before when I ran out of food but I do my best to give them a balanced diet. That leads to the next question…

What if you feed them wrong?

From what I have found chickens are pretty hearty little things! They can live on just about anything. I have gone days without feeding them much and they survived just fine. So if you mess up the ratio and don’t feed them “right” you will be fine!

What I have shared with you is what you are shooting for. If you don’t perfect your chicken food right away it is not a huge deal. Just know that if you are not feeding them the right things your egg production might suffer.

But you will just keep trying different ratios until you find what works for you. Remember that chickens are animals they don’t need much to survive but if you are wanting them to work for you (i.e. give you eggs you might have to take a little better care of them)

What can chickens eat list/not eat

How many times a day should I feed my chickens?

Well, the nice things about chickens are that they won’t “gorge” themselves. They eat until they are full and then move on. So really you can feed them as much as you want and they will kinda let you know how much they need. This will also depend on how many chickens you have.

Before I was using a small feeder and would have to refill it all the time. But now I have these awesome chicken feeder that will feed my 21 chickens and I only have to fill it up once a week! And it cost like nothing to make! I will show you my feeder and waterer! They are both life-savers!

Chicken feeder

My husband and I have tried many different things to feed our chickens. It does not seem like a chicken feeder would be that big of a deal but it really is. If you get to small of a feeder you will have to refill it all the time. If you get an open style feeder the chickens will tip it over and poop in the food. And so on. We have finally found one that works extremely well! And the best part about this feeder is that you can build it yourself with just 2 items.

Here is a picture of our chicken feeder

All you need to build this feeder is

• Rubbermaid container
• PVC

Supplies

• Sharpie
• Drywall Saw

You can use one Rubbermaid container but if you layer them it will be stronger. I just cleaned out my basement and found some Rubbermaid containers down there. So that worked out well.

As far as the PVC goes you can just buy a 4″ PVC pipe and cut it down. Or you can buy the Pvc pieces that are curved like we did. Our feeder has a lot of feeding holes but you really don’t need that many. The amount of feeding holes will depend on how many chickens you have.

Once you have your supplies you will need to draw on the Rubbermaid containers where you want your PVC pipe to go. Once you figure out where you want your feeders you will take a drywall saw and cut them out.

After this step, you will put your cut PVC pipe pieces into the hole.

The inside will look like this.

Place your lid on and you have your chicken feeder!

Chicken Waterer

So I know this article is about what to feed chickens but my husband came up with a great way to water the chickens so I just have to share that real fast.

Here is what our chicken waterer looks like.

Here is how my husband built it…

It is basically the same as the chicken feeder.

1. Get your container
2. Buy the little water pieces here
3. Cut out holes
4. place lid on top

What to feed chickens to lay eggs?

Another issue I have had is my chickens not laying eggs. Usually, if you are feeding your chickens the diet we talked about your chickens should lay pretty well. If your chickens are not laying you might have other issues.

Your chickens might not be laying because it is too cold or they are molting etc. But again this article is about feeding chickens so I won’t go into those topics right now.

If you are feeding your chickens a balanced diet of…

1. Poultry Pellets
2. Grains & Corn
3. Table Scraps
4. Grass Clippings & Weeds
5. Calcium Supplement

And still, feel like they need something more I would try one of the following ideas.

• Bugs and Worms

I mentioned this already but chickens love bugs! You can purchase mealworms but that can get expensive. If you have little kids have them look for worms and throw them to the chickens! They will love it.

• Fruit

If you have some extra fruit that is on the verge of going bad to go ahead and give it to your chickens. This is a special treat for them but might also encourage them to lay some extra eggs.

• Eggshells or oyster shells

You can Recycle your eggshells and give them back to the chickens and this will help with your egg production as well. But if you are not getting any eggs you don’t have any eggshells right? If this is the case for you head up to your local farm store and pick up some oyster shells.

How to naturally feed your chickens

If you are like me you want to feed your chickens as naturally as possible. At first, I hardly bought any chicken feed because I wanted them to just eat scraps. And I will say that if you are really into it you can do mostly scraps but you have to have scraps with a wide verity in it to make sure your chickens are getting there grains and corn and proper nutrients.

This is kind of hard to answer because what “natural” means to me and what “natural” means to you might be two different things. I Feel that the list I talked about it pretty natural. Here is the list again for reference.

1. Poultry Pellets
2. Grains & Corn
3. Table Scraps
4. Grass Clippings & Weeds
5. Calcium Supplement

Grower feed for chickens

So far we have been talking mostly about layer chickens. But what about meat birds? We can’t forget about them!

A mistake I made with meat birds is trying to feed them on just grass and food scraps. This, unfortunately, did not work because with meat birds you need them to get nice and fat! So I would recommend getting a good grower feed. If you click on the picture below it will send you to amazon for some good grower feed.

What to feed chickens if you are out of food?

I run out of food more often then I would like to admit thankfully the store I get our chicken food is close. But I know for some of you its not as easy to get food. So what do you do until you can replenish your chicken food? Well, get your kids to work! If you don’t have kids I guess you will have to do it! This is pretty much a repeat from the above list but a few creative ways to get the food.

• Grass clippings

Mow the yard and rake up the clippings!

• Food scraps

Clean out the fridge and dump all the food that is about to be bad to the chickens. Do the same thing with the pantry and freezer.

• Worms and bugs

I just talked about this one but have your kids go hunting for bugs and worms. If you have little kids they will think this is so much fun! My kids are always wanting to help with the chickens and this is a great way for them to help.

• Weeds

Ya know that flower bed that is in dire need of a good weed? GO weed it and give the weeds to the chickens. I did that this summer and was so embarrassed at how many weeds I had. But again I love recycling and it worked out great! The chickens munched on it for a few days!

• Weed whip

This is pretty much the same thing. But get your weed whipping done and give the chickens what was weed whipped! I have done this a number of times as well!

• Free Range

This might not work for everyone. But if you are able to free-range your chickens this is a way that they can get the food they need as well.

Conclusion

Who knew there was so much to talk about when it came to feeding chickens! When I first got chickens I just assumed you bought chicken feed and you were done. I had no idea what a balanced chicken diet looked like.

I now know that for my chickens to have a balanced diet they need the following…

1. Poultry Pellets
2. Grains & Corn
3. Table Scraps
4. Grass Clippings & Weeds
5. Calcium Supplement

As always I hope this was helpful to you and if it was you might be interested in these other posts.

His boss told him how wheatgrass is supposed to help relieve allergies. So my dad gave it a try. It worked! Now it did not work overnight it took a few months for it to start working but within that year my dad’s allergies were basically gone.

But what does that have to do with growing wheatgrass? Well, My dad takes wheatgrass just about every day. And it is not cheap and it can be kind of hard to find sometimes. So why not grow your own? It’s really very simple and you can get started with a bag of wheatberries.

The cool part is that you cut it down and it will grow back. There is controversy on this but what I found is that you can let it grow back about 3 times. After the third cutting you will just start the process over…But I am getting ahead of myself so lets start at the beginging.

How do you grow wheatgrass at home? Well, let me show you…

Okay, before we get started let me explain the differnet ways you can grow wheatgrass.

1. Wheatgrass grower ( The fastest and easiest way)
2. In soil
3. Soiless
4. Outdoors

Before we get into the process I just want to explain that the wheat berries are your “seeds” so when I refer to seeds, wheat or wheatberries it is the same thing.

Wheatgrass grower Instructions

1.Buy this On amazon (click the picture for link)

2. Buy your wheatberries (seeds) on amazon. (click the photo for link)

3. Prepare wheatgrass

• Soak seeds for 10 hours
• Layer seeds on the tray
• Put water in bottom tray

4. Care for Wheatgrass

• Change water 3 times a day ( put in about 1/4 inch of water)
• Mist the seeds with water bottle twice a day

5. Harvest Wheatgrass

• Cut down wheatgrass with scissers

Notes:

Leave a little of the wheatgrass so that it can grow back.

Soil Instructions

• Pick a Container

This will be different for everyone. If you have a large family and want to grow wheatgrass for them all,  then you will clearly need a large container. But if you just need wheatgrass for your own personal use then I would just use a small container.

You can use a mason jar if you just need a small amount. If you want a large amount I would use a large shallow dish. You can buy planting containers or use any dish you have around the house. A plate will work or a pie dish!

• Pick your wheatberries

Really any wheatberries will work this is just an option for you!

• Get good Soil

Now you can be lazy like me and use your own soil. Which I mean I am lazy but I also have good composted soil so its not all bad. Or you can buy some planting soil.

• Soak your seeds

Soak your seeds in water for 8 hours

• Plant your wheatgrass

1.Put about a 1/4 inch of soil in your container.

2. Layer your seeds. Lay them nice and close toegther it is like normal grass and grows in close together. You won’t need to worry anout thinning it.

3. Another layer of soil! Put down another layer of soil about the same as you did on the bottom layer.

If you can I would keep your container in a sunny window. But it will also work in partial light as well.

• Waterging your wheatgrass

It is very important to water your wheatgrass but if you are like me you will have a tendacy to forgot to water it and then drown it when you do remember. The best way to avoid that issue is to put water in a spray bottle and lighty mist your wheat grass twice a day.

• Using and harvesting your wheatgrass

When your wheatgrass gets to about 6-8 inches you can begin to start using it. At this point you will take a scissors and cut it down. Now you don’t want to cut it so low that it can’t continue to grow back. You want to leave about an inch at the base of the plant.

Once you get your wheat grass growing you should be able to harvest some each day. I would suggest that you start juicing wheatgrass so that you can start reaping the benefits. If that is something that interests you keep reading and I will explain how to do that!

Soiless Instructions

• Pick a container

You will need a container with holes in the bottom and then another continer to set it in. You are creating a way for the water to drain out.

You could use a fruit contantier that already has holes in it or you can just poke hole in any container that you have.

• Pick your wheatberries

• Soak your seeds

Pour your seeds into a container and put in twice as much water, leave on your counter to soak for 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

• Strain seeds

Put paper towels into a strainer and pour in your seeds.

Wrap your seeds in the paper towel and make sure to soak the entire thing. Place wrapped up seeds into the container you picked and place on counter.

• Keep soaking

Keep your seeds in the paper towel for 2-3 days. Make sure to keep the paper towel wet the whole time. You should only have to soak it a couple times a day.

• Planting your seeds

At this point your seeds should have little tails which mean they are sprouted. At this point they are ready to plant. Take you container with the holes and put a layer of seeds down. You don’t want a think layer but you want them all touching.

Place another tray under your containter with holes. Place it on the edge of a sink or someplace it can drain into. This is important because you don’t want water sitting in the seeds because it will grow mold.

• Water your seeds

Twice a day pour water over your seeds and completly soak them.

• Harvest your Wheatgrass

By day 12 you should be able to harvest your wheatgrasss. To harvest your wheatgras all you have to do is cut it down with scissors. Don’t cut it all the way down becuase it will grow back and give you a second cutting.

Outdoor Instructions

You can totally grow wheatgrass outside. Actaully, from my research It seems that growing it outside is the best option. Just like anything you would grow outside it will do better beacuase it is getting the nutrients and natural sunlight that it needs.

The only thing about growing it outside is that it is harder to keep an eye on. But if you can keep a close eye on it by all means grow it outside.

You can start from scratch growing wheatgrass outside. But I would suggest taking a patch of your wheatgrass you started inside and planting that outside. This way you know that it will have a little bit of a head start.

More on outdoor wheatgrass…

It was so interesting learning about wheatgrass. Everywhere you look everyone is telling you to grow your wheatgrass indoors. And if that is your only option then by all means go for it. But as I was digging deeper into the subject of wheatgrass I found that growing wheatgrass outside is really the best option.

When you grow it inside you are in a sense forcing it to grow faster with warm tempatures. When really wheatgrass needs time and natural sunlight and good soil.

Ideally you should plant your wheatgrass in the early fall so that the soil is still warm from the summer but the days are cool. Your wheatgrass will not look like it is growing but it is actaully devolping good strong roots underground.

Your wheatgrass will need about 200 days to reach its peak nutrotional value. At this point you can cut it down and reap all the benefits of pure organic wheatgrass.

Other Wheatgrass Questions

How long will it last?

Refridgerator

Wheatgrass will last about a week. But if you are growing it yourself it is best to just harvest it as you need it. It holds onto its nutritional value longer this way and you don’t have to worry about it going bad. But if this is not an option for you plan on storing your wheatgrass for about a week.

Freezer

If you have a suprplus of wheatgrass and can not go through it in a week then I would suggest you freeze it. Frozen wheatgrass will last for up to 3 years! Just make sure you package it well.

The best way to do this is to make your wheatgrass juice and then pour it into ice cube trays. Let them totally freeze. Once they have frozen completly pop them out of the trays and store in the freezer in ziplock baggies.

Now you have wheatgrass whenever you need it!

How to store it?

Speaking of storing. The best way to store wheatgrass is by keeping it in an airtight container in the fridge. You can use glass containers, plastic containers or zip-lock baggies.

Juicing Wheatgrass

So now that you have an abundance of wheatgrass what is the best way to use it? As I mentioned above my Dad was the one who started on the wheatgrass trend in our family. Before that, I did not know anything about it. My dad’s favorite way to get it in is by juicing. You can juice it by itself but it is very strong. So I would suggest juicing it with an apple. So how about an amount?

How much wheatgrass should you take a day?

I feel like when you do natural things like this it is always hard to know how much to take. And honestly, it will be different for everyone. It is suggested that you take anywhere from 1-4 ounces a day.

Start small and see how you feel. You can always slowly build up to 4 ounces. It is also a good idea to drink a big glass of water after you take the wheatgrass. Drinking water will reduce your chances of dealing with side effects.

Wait…There are side effects?

You will most likely be totally fine. When you are doing natural things you will sometimes have small side effects but nothing crazy. The only side effect you might experience from wheatgrass would be nausea and possibly constipation from the high fiber count.

But like I said if you start small you most likely will not have a problem at all. And the benefits totally outweigh the possible side effects.

Wheatgrass Benefits

Let me preface this by saying that wheatgrass will not “cure” you of any of the following ailments. It is a great supplement found in nature and I have seen it really help people but don’t think that it is a “cure-all”. Everybody is so different and things work completely different on every bodies body.

1. Allergy Relief

I started with this one because this is how I was introduced to wheatgrass in the first place. Like I said my dad started using wheatgrass for allergies after he had tried everything else out there. Within a year his seasonal allergies were basically gone. I was so impressed but I did not know why it worked I just know it did. But I figured I would have to learn the “why” behind it so I could explain it better.

From my research allergies come from a weakened immune system. So if you can strengthen your immune sytem you are less likely to deal with seasonal allergies. As we talked about everbody is different so you will have to test and see what works for you. My dad juices about a handful of wheatgrass with an apple every day and has found success in that.

2. Cancer prevention

Wheatgrass is very high in antioxidants and can potentially kill cancer cells. Again, this is not a guarantee, but for me who lost my grandma to cancer, I will do anything I can to help prevent the same thing in my body.

3. Healthy skin

As I mentioned Wheatgrass has loads of antioxidants which has anti-aging properties. What I like about this is you are healing your body from the inside out. Most creams and topical things are working on the outside but is really not fixing the inside. With things like wheatgrass, you are working on the actaul issue and not just slapping a band aid on the syptom.

4. Avoid hair damage

This stuff is crazy! Wheat grass is known to be a super food and to be cleansing. It will  remove dead skin cells from your head. This may sound strange but you can take the wheat grass juice and rub it onto your scalp. Leave it there for 15-20 minutes and then rinse out with shampoo.

I know it sounds strange but don’t knock it til you try it!

5. Regulating Blood Sugar

When your blood sugar is whacked out you will deal with all sorts of issues. In the US this has been a huge issue with our poor diets. Because of high blood sugar, we deal with, things such as fatigue, obesity, dehydration, headaches Etc. Regulating our blood sugar can be very hard to control.

But studies are coming out showing that wheatgrass can aid in regulating blood sugar.

6. Weight loss

We all could lose a few extra pounds and wheatgrass can give us the little boost we need. Most of us have not eaten the greatest and have toxins in our bodies. This can hinder your weight loss journey. Wheatgrass will start removing those toxins from your body so that you can start losing those extra pounds.

7. Increase energy

As a young mom I am all about getting in some extra energy. But I refuse to drink those energy drinks full of garbage. Coffee does not work for me because it makes my mind run like crazy as soon as I get into bed at night. The only thing I have found to help is hemp CBD oil. But holy smokes that stuff is pricy.

So you can bet I am gonna go for the stuff I can grow at home for alomost nothing!

Wheatgrass is high in protien and enzymes. Which in turn gives your body a boost of energy. I don’t know exactly how that works I just know it does.

Other Uses For Wheatgrass

Other then the items I mentioned above there are other ways wheatgrass can be used.

1. Cats

I am not a cat person and personally do not have a cat. But from what I was learning you can feed wheatgrass to your cat and it will have the same benefits for your furry friend as it does for us humans.

2. Decoration

This is so fun! I love doing things that are practical and cute. You can use your wheatgrass for decoration. So basically you will just take the steps I provided above but just plant some wheatgrass in a cute little container or jar. You can decorate with it and just cut it down as you want to use it. How cool is that?

Conclusion

Wheatgrass is pretty crazy stuff! It can help your body kill cancer cells, give you glowing radient skin, relieve allergies and more! I love when I find things that are almost free to come by and have such a large positve impact on my body. And how cool is it that I can grow it in my house and use it as a cute docoration and cut it down as I need to juice it? Pretty awesome if you ask me.

I love finding “non traditional” ways to heal my body, clean my home, and teach my kids. And my favorite is when I find things that work REALLY work well. Here is another one of my posts that you might be interested in.

Honest Norwex Review

Are all canned foods cooked?

Yes, all canned food is cooked. All canned food in the US is required by the FDA to be cooked. The only thing that is not cooked are things that are “pickled”.

So whether you have Hormel chili, Progresso soup, green beans, or canned meat it all is required to be cooked first.

Yes, cucumbers are in fact a fruit. You see, the scientific (more accurately the field of Botany) definition of a fruit is pretty straight forward. A fruit is the part of the plant that grows from the flowering ovaries and contains the seeds.

So in order to vet out fruits and vegetables, you just have to ask yourself a few questions.

1. Does this item contain seeds?

2. Did this item grow from the flower of a plant?

Great, now that we know how to identify fruits let’s clear up a little more of the confusion. So if the part of the plant that contains the seeds is the fruit of the plant then what are vegetables? Well, pretty much everything else. The roots, stalks, and leaves are all considered vegetables. With this type of classification that means that things like  Green beans, squash, tomatoes and peppers would all be fruits. Whereas cabbage, onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, celery and asparagus would all be a vegetable.

What type of fruit is a cucumber?

Cucumbers are actually a type of berry. Ya I know that sounds crazy but it’s true. They are known as a “Pepo”. This is a type of berry with no internal divisions and a hard outer skin or rind. Some other common examples of the “Pepo” berry would be Squash, zucchini, Pumpkins, and Watermelon. 

How many types of cucumbers are there?

There are generally considered 2 major types of cucumbers. The first type would be the “Slicing” cucumbers. These are the cucumbers that you would see in the market and what we generally think of when we think of this fruit. They are large, smooth and light to medium green. These are used in salads and other dishes and have a nice light fresh crisp taste.

The second type of cucumbers is “pickling” cucumbers. These, as their name implies are used for picking purposes. We grow these in our garden and are amazed by how many pickling cucumbers you will get for a single plant. Last year we were able to put up about 40 jars of pickles from a single plant.

How nutritious are cucumbers?

Cucumbers contain many valuable vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, potassium, manganese, magnesium and fiber. Though cucumbers do have a wide variety of helpful vitamins and minerals it is important to remember that overall cucumbers are about 95% water. This means that they are extremely low in calories and carbohydrates. There are only about 15-16 calories in one cup of cucumbers. That’s amazing! It also means that there is really not that much to them and if you wanted to get your daily intake of the vitamins that cucumbers provide you would have to eat almost 25 cucumbers per day. 

Benefits 

Cucumbers can be a great snack choice for people looking to stay healthy and well hydrated. Because of their aforementioned high water content, they are an excellent way to get more water into your system throughout the day if you are a person who has a hard time drinking a lot of water. Also, they make a great substitute for a dipping chip. I personally love to eat them with salsa or hummus. 

Skin Care

Another great benefit of cucumbers is that they can be used for skin. Both as a means of first aid and as an anti-aging resource. You see the peal of a cucumber contains something called “Caffeic Acid”, this helps to soothe irritated and inflamed skin. That means that next time you get burned by your stove or even the sun you can use a cold slice of cucumber to help the healing process. Also, cucumbers contain silica. Silica is used to rejuvenate skin cells and help to keep them hydrated and plump. That’s why we have all seen women for years use slices under their eyes to fight that saggy skin. 

It’s important to know the difference

Simply put, YES! More and more people deal with food allergies and it is very important for people to know what they are putting in there mouth. I personally have a reaction to some fruits with skin like apples, peaches, pears, Plums and on and on the list goes. If I eat the skin of these fruits raw then the inside of my mouth will actually itch. I’m not sure if I react to the fruit itself or the pesticides but it’s not the most enjoyable experience. It’s not dangerous as much as it is annoying. However, some people have more life-threatening reactions to things and it is important for those people to be aware.

Conclusion

A cucumber is not only a fruit but part of a very interesting family of fruits with many uses and applications. Everything from making pickles to soothing a burn the cucumber has got you covered. They are a great addition to any refrigerator and you may want to start keeping a few around. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you learned something. Make sure to check out a few of my other articles while you are here.