Author Archives: Slocum's Creak

Something new to me starting last year is fermentation of foods. Things started out great but then kind of fizzled when the heat of Summer kicked in. At least three batches failed before I gave up for the Summer. I read up more and decided it was the heat, I don’t have air conditioning. ThatContinue reading “Fermentation”

My version makes a block just shy of three inches square. I also have some that are original size and they all work well. Still working on the composition of my blocks but feel like I’m closing in on my favorite recipe, I think. There are of course proven recipes that can found online, howeverContinue reading “Soil blocker”

  Beef jerky is one of the kids favorite snacks.   At one point in time I decided to make jerky to sell. I’d bought a Lem big bite dehydrator and was pricing a new slicer. Then covid hit, meat prices rose making jerky to sell seem impractical at best and so I scraped theContinue reading “Making jerky.”

Homemade yogurt is just as good as if not better than most any store bought brand in my opinion. Personally I prefer the Greek style yogurt though many find it a bit strong for their liking.   I can’t get the kids to eat it, even when adding fruit they will complain it’s bitter.  Continue reading “Making yogurt at home”

With the price of eggs more people are taking to keeping chicken as a way to offset the cost of eggs. Where I live 2 1/2 dozen eggs are now just shy of $20. They was $7 at the start of last Summer. I had gone into a farm supply store looking for the brewContinue reading “Chicken coop”

  A great way to save and store food stuffs for long term storage, canning and vacuum sealing are great ways of saving food.   I’ve had and used a vacuum sealer for many years. We started using one to cut out loss to freezer burn.   At the start I didn’t realize freezer burnContinue reading “Vacuum sealing food.”

  I have read there are about 35 species of elm trees. Of course covering all of them would be a lengthy process and is a bit beyond the scope of this blog.   And not all of them are important to homesteading, which is my primary focus.   American Elm is used for makingContinue reading “Elm trees”

Above is a picture of the one I ended up getting. It was around $25 at Walmart. The blades are really sharp and it has sliced everything I’ve thrown at it. From paper thin to around 1/4″ or so. It has four settings but to be honest, I’m not sure what they are. I generallyContinue reading “Mandolin”

I’ve done something a bit different today. To be honest I was hoping it would just show the whole booklet. It’s 44 pages and feels like it takes forever to download. However that being said, this is good information. It was put out in 1917 by the United States and Bureau of Plant Industry. BackContinue reading “Small vegetable gardening.”

Last year I found a tree growing in my yard, I’m assuming a bird or squirrel dropped the seed it started from. It’s pushing 12′ now. All Summer I’d give it a good long soaking about every week. After looking into it I figured out it was a shag bark hickory tree. I had aboutContinue reading “Shag bark hickory trees”