If you’re considering ways to become more self-sufficient, you’ve likely looked at the reasons to raise bees.

Harvesting your own backyard honey sounds like a homesteading dream come true, but is it worth it to start this hobby for yourself? Should you sink some money into a set of hives?

This article will walk you through many of the rewards of raising bees and give you suggestions for how to get started.

Why Raise Bees?

There’s never been a better time to raise backyard bees. Not only are they entertaining and educational to watch, but a hive of honeybees offers impressive pollination benefits for the home garden, especially if you have fruit trees.

Saying that, there are some pros and cons to weigh out carefully before deciding whether you should raise bees. Below are some of those factors.

The Pros:

Help Save Bees: Bees perform close to 80% of pollinating globally, but their populations have been on a sharp decline for more than a decade.

It’s not completely clear what’s causing the die-off, but you can work to rebalance your local community of pollinators by tending to a hive.

(Learn more about how you can help save bees here)

Harvest Homegrown Honey: There’s no better honey than what you harvest straight from the backyard, and so long as you manage things properly you can ensure that there’s enough for both you and your bees to make it through the winter.

It takes twelve bees to produce a teaspoon of honey over their lifespans, but having a hive of hundreds means this honey adds up fast.

Fresh Wax Supply: A byproduct of honey production is beeswax, as worker bees form it into honeycombs to create the structure of their home.

There are endless uses for beeswax, including making candles, body balms, and other projects. Maintaining your own hives gives you a ready supply.

Boost Your Backyard Food Potential: For those with home gardens and orchards, honeybees and other pollinators are essential for fruit production.

Having a hive or two near your fruiting plants ensures that bees will visit them during their nectar search and pass on pollination benefits in the process.  

Little Work From You: Once you set up a beehive, the local inhabitants quickly earn their reputations for being as “busy as bees.”

You won’t need to do much to maintain your hive, as it typically takes an hour or less a week to ensure everything is operating as it should.

However, if you live in a colder climate, it requires more effort to help your bees survive the winter.

The Cons

There are some downsides to raising honeybees that are worth knowing before you dive into this hobby. Below are several factors to keep in mind.

Honeybees aren’t Native: It’s believed that honeybees originated in Africa, but they have been spread across their globe through the help of humans for their honey production potential.

This means that your hive of honeybees might out-compete the native bees and other pollinators in your area, potentially causing their populations to fall.

You Might Get Stung: Honeybees aren’t the most docile of livestock, and almost every beekeeper needs to be prepared for the occasional sting. If you are sensitive or allergic to stings, this probably isn’t the smartest hobby for your situation.

Beekeeping isn’t Cheap: While many people find that the joy of beekeeping pays for itself, the rest of us discover that maintaining hives is an expensive proposition.

You’ll pay hundreds of dollars for your first hives, and clothing and other gear will likely cost several hundred more.

If you’re looking to cut costs, it’s usually not worth compromising on lower quality equipment. Instead, look for people getting out of the hobby who might be willing to cut you a deal on their used equipment.

Die-Offs Happen (A Lot): Even if you do everything right, there’s still a chance your bees might not make it. That’s because a young hive has a lot to do their first year, including producing wax, finding enough honey for the winter, and raising the next generation.

It’s a common complaint that whole hives dive over the winter, so you need to be prepared to start over.

Your Bees Might Get Sick: Today’s bees face a lot of threats, and a number of diseases, pesticides, and parasites can do them in.

You’ll need to stay aware of the symptoms and prevention practices so that you can ensure that your hive stays healthy.

Top Beekeeping Tools For Getting Started

If you’re still interested in raising your own bees after seeing this pros and cons list, then it’s time to start considering the equipment you’ll need. The first big decision you need to make is about hive variety.

There are three main types of hives to consider: the Langstroth hive, the top bar hive, and the Warre hive.

Langstroth hives are the most common type used today, and they are considered beginner friendly. They consist of removable frames that are stacked on each other for easy access.

Considered to be one of the oldest hive designs in the world, top bar hives feature wooden bars laid out on the top of the bar and a protected interior for the bees to build their comb in.

These hives are easier on beekeepers backs because they don’t require you to stack heavy boxes on top of each other.

However, you need to remove the comb to extract the honey which means that the bees will need to rebuild it each year. 

The Warre hive is a vertical top bar hive, as it consists of identical stacked boxes placed on top of each other.

Most beekeepers who use this style tend to put empty boxes on the bottom of the hive to better mimic how bees create habitat space in the wild.

Beyond the hive, you will also need a variety of beekeeping equipment, including protective clothing, frame grips for removing frames for harvest, a hive smoker (to sedate the bees and prevent stings), and a honey refractometer to test its quality.

Beginners might want to invest in a starter kit to get the basics all at once.

Where To Get Honey Bees

Once you have your hives established, it’s time to think about securing your bees. Buying bees tends to be the most popular method for beginners, and the two common ways to receive them are as a package of bees or a nucleus hive.

As the name implies, a package of bees contains a queen and worker bees that you can incorporate into your hive.

It’s usually best to buy package bees locally, though they should be fine in the container for a few days because they typically come with a sugar syrup feeder.

With this method, the queen bee usually arrives in her own special cage that keeps her safe from the workers.

Once all the bees are in the hive, the worker bees will slowly eat through the food plug in her care to release her.

A nucleus hive, in contrast, is a half-size colony with a queen and baby bees (called a broad).

This gives you a jump start on starting a hive, but it’s slightly more precarious because you have a higher risk of spreading pests or disease into your new colony.

For those who are daring, it’s also possible to capture a swarm in the wild to re-home in your hive.

Bees tend to divide up their colonies when they grow too big, so swarming is a natural instinct for half the bees to leave with a new queen and reestablish themselves.

Most bees tend to swarm in the spring, so it might be worth looking for tree limbs covered in bees that you can then cut down and deposit into a container.

Just make sure you wear protective clothing and use a smoker to keep them calm. This should only be done if you know what you are doing or have an expert there to assist you.

How To Harvest Honey From A Backyard Hive

Once you’ve established your hive, it’s time to start making a honey harvesting plan.

Keep in mind that keeping bees is a commitment, as you’ll need to wait until at least the second year for the bees to produce enough honey to spare.

Bees only produce honey when they have access to abundant flowers for long periods, so you’ll tend to get more honey if you live in a warm climate and ensure your backyard contains a variety of flowers that bloom throughout your entire growing season.

So long as you give your hive the time and resources to create stellar honey, the supply will be well worth the wait.

The average colony in a flower-rich region produces enough honey for a beekeeper to harvest more than four gallons, but this amount can vary significantly by year and location.

Harvesting honey is a delicate process because you don’t want to disturb your bees or harvest honey to the point that they can’t make it through the winter.

For that reason, it’s best to harvest honey with an experienced beekeeper for your first few attempts so that you can learn the nuances.

The specific steps you will need to follow will depend on the hive you have, but below is the basic technique.

1. Open the hive: Use a smoker to puff smoke into the hive entrance so that you sedate your bees and drive them into a corner of the hive. You’ll then carefully remove the inner cover to gain access to the inside. Note: Too much smoke can affect the honey’s flavor, so use it sparingly!
2. Pull Bees Off the Frame: Before you can pull out frames, you need to remove lingering bees from them with a “bee brush” to get them back into the cave.
3. Puncture the Honey Caps: Once you have a free comb, you will need to remove the beeswax seals from the comb with an uncapping knife by slicing through the top layer. Don’t throw away these cappings, as you can transform the beeswax through a variety of homesteading projects.
4. Extract the Honey: You’ll next put the honeycomb in a honey extractor (hand crank or electrical models both work). Extractors use centrifugal force to spin the hives and pull the honey from the combs so that it drips off the sides to the bottom where it is released through a spigot.
5. Filter the Honey: Once you have a large amount of raw honey, you will want to strain it through several layers of cheesecloth to remove stray wax and debris, and then let it set for a few days so that any contaminants settle at the bottom and can be poured out. From there, you can bottle it with clean, sterilized bottles.

Once bottled, you can return the used comb to the hive for the bees to replenish it. It’s possible to start enjoying your homemade honey immediately.  

3 Final Tips To Keep In Mind for Raising Bees

There’s a lot to learn about keeping honeybees that we can’t cover here, but below are three final tips to keep in mind before you commit to this challenging yet rewarding hobby.

1. Know Your Local Laws:

Not all areas are conducive to beekeeping, and some cities have restrictions and regulations you need to know in advance.

Some places ban beekeeping altogether, and in others you will need to register your hive and potentially pay a fee.

It’s also smart to check in with your local community to make sure keeping bees won’t cause problems for anyone else.

After all, you don’t want to invest in hives only to find out a local five-year-old is deathly allergic!

2. Think Like A Bee In Flight:

The term “beeline” means to travel in the most direct route, which is precisely what a bee will do when it senses food.

You’ll want to think through this fact during hive placement so that you can ensure that bees won’t be flying over problem areas to get to food sources.

If you don’t want bees traveling around a pathway that humans take, consider installing a fence near the hives so that the bees are encouraged to fly high quickly and stay above people who don’t want to be stung.

3. Make Bee Food Plentiful:

One of the best ways to ensure you have success with bees is to ensure they have a ready food supply all summer long.

Plant lots of flowers (preferably native) and focus on varieties that will bloom at different times of the year so that you can guarantee your bees a nectar supply from spring to fall.

There’s a lot to think about when deciding if you should raise bees.

Weigh out the decision carefully before you start investing in equipment, and there’s a good chance you’ll find a lot to like about this highly rewarding hobby.

This article has only touched on the basics of beekeeping. For further information, we recommend these books:

• How to Raise Backyard Honey Bees by Isaac Miller

• Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees by Richard E. Bonney

• Backyard Beekeeping by Olivia Abbey

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Read Next: 10 Brilliant Ways You Can Help Save The Bees

The post A Beginner’s Guide To Raising Honey Bees & How To Get Started appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

As the seasons start to change it’s a struggle to avoid getting infected with the gardening bug. You’re in good company if you’re counting down the days until you can dig around in your vegetable beds again. But do you have the tools you need for success?

The right equipment can make or break a garden, and you don’t want to find out that you’ve come up short in the middle of the growing season. This list of forty genius gardening tools you never knew you needed should give you a starting point to ensure you’re set to go this summer.

1. My Gardening Handbook – Hardcover Journal for Gardeners and Plant Lovers

Do you struggle to keep good records of your gardening experience? Then it’s time to upgrade your system with this personal gardening reference book. Within the handbook are spaces for recording your planting ideas, plans and preferred growing strategies. You also get over 300 pages of tips and templates for making your next garden your best garden.

Get it here.

2. Harris Diatomaceous Earth

If you’re looking to boost the benefits of your soil for your garden plants, consider investing in diatomaceous earth. This all-natural amendment contains the fossilized remains of diatoms, which is a type of freshwater algae. You can use the powder to keep insect pest populations in check and so much more, and it’s entirely safe for use around children and pets.

Get it here.

3. Foldable Portable Garden Stool Kneeler and Seat

Don’t let a sore back keep you from working in your garden this year. This versatile stool from Best Choice has a solid steel frame that can support up to 225 pounds. The included foam padded cushion reduces pressure on your knees so that you can kneel down and work, and its lightweight design makes it simple to store when you complete your garden projects. You’ll find that it boosts your endurance for gardening activities.

Get it here.

4. Solid Wood Potting Bench

Every home gardener needs a space where they can get messy, and this potting bench fits the bill. Its sold fir wood construction is designed for durability, and the natural wood finish means you can paint or stain it as desired. The bench comes with a side drawer for easy access to your potting tools, and it includes plenty of workspace for tackling planting projects.

Get it here.

5. Three Tier Wooden Raised Elevated Vegetable Garden Bed Planter Kit

If you’re looking for a designated gardening spot in a space-limited yard, you can’t go wrong with a three-tiered gardening bed. This 4×4 foot planter is made from thick cedar that should last you for seasons to come, and the stair-step design provides space for various sized plants on every level. The easy assembly can be completed without any outside tools.

Get it here.

6. Best Choice Products 7-Piece Garden Tool Set

Gathering all the gardening tools you’ll need as a beginner isn’t easy, but this seven-piece set is a smart way to get started. This durable steel stool comes with a broad trowel, narrow trowel, hand fork, hand cultivator and poker, as well as a detachable storage bag with pockets to keep things convenient when you need them.

Get it here.

7. Homes Garden 4-Tier Shelves Mini Indoor/Outdoor Greenhouse

Looking to start your plants in a space smaller than a closet? Consider this mini indoor/outdoor greenhouse that can be set up to include two to four shelves. It’s made with thick PVC plastic and includes double zippers for easy access. The design can hold up to forty pounds, so you won’t have to worry about the security of your plants.

Get it here.

8. Complete Walk-in Greenhouse with 8 Shelves

For those who want to extend their growing season without breaking the bank, this affordably-priced greenhouse is a smart option. You gain eight shelves of growing space, and the clear PVC cover helps you control the interior temperature while keeping seedlings safe from frost and pests. No outside tools are necessary to assemble the greenhouse, and it comes with ropes and anchors so you can secure it in place through wind and storms.

Get it here.

9. Outsunny Polycarbonate Portable Walk-in Greenhouse

If you’re looking for a more substantial home greenhouse option, consider this kit from Outsunny. The powder-coated aluminum frame comes in multiple sizes, and it fits with the included UV-resistant, polycarbonate sheets so you can keep your plants safe from the elements. A rooftop vent means you can control the internal temperature, and the included sliding door gives you easy access to your plants.

Get it here.

10. Kotulas Deluxe Rolling Garden Seat

If you struggle with limited mobility that makes it hard to manage your garden space, consider working from the Kotulas rolling garden seat instead. This heavy duty cart can hold up to 400 pounds and comes with a padded seat and 24 inch T-handle turnbar for easy navigation. You can lean against the back rail for extra support, and the included wire basket contains space for all your hand tools.

Get it here.

11. Garden Wagon and Toy Set

Inspire a love for digging in the dirt in your children early with this cute yet functional toolset for tiny gardeners. This 14-piece set comes with flower pots, a water pail, spray bottle, and an assortment of gardening tools for realistic play. Each piece fits inside the included wagon for easy storage.

Get it here.

12. Dual-Wheel Home Wheelbarrow

Keep your gardening activities smooth and streamlined with this spacious garden cart that can hold up to five cubic feet of material. The dual wheel design makes it possible to take the cart over rough terrain, and the padded handlebars double as a stand when you’re keeping it in place. Once you start using this tool in your yard, you won’t imagine how you gardened before.

Get it here.

13. Gardening Magic: More Than 1,120 Ingenious Gardening Solutions Using Brand-Name Products by Joey Green

Do you find yourself stymied when it comes to solving problems in the garden? Gardening Magic may have the answers you’re looking for. This detailed book is full of home hacks that incorporate products you probably already have in your pantry. You’ll learn how to feed your plants with pancake syrup, the ways you can boost a compost pile with Coca Cola, how to control aphids with hot sauce, and a lot more.

Get it here.

14. Raised Garden Bed Kit

A mail order garden might not be possible, but purchasing this raised bed means the hardest prep work is already behind you. This 4×4 foot bed kit can be assembled in an hour, and the stackable design means it can accommodate even deep-rooted plants. Best of all, the structure absorbs and retains heat so that your plants get what they need for proper growth so that you get your best harvest yet.

Get it here.

15. Gardena 8940-U Garden Hand Rake

It pays to invest in the right tools the first time around as a gardener, and this hand rake is no exception. Designed to simplify the process of prepping beds and removing weeds and grass clippings, this rake is made with high-quality steel and will last you for seasons to come.  

Get it here.

16. Hori Hori Japanese Gardening Knife

This versatile gardening tool is almost limitless in its uses. Add it to your garden tools, and you will soon rely on it for weeding, planting, and harvesting root crops, thanks to its sharp blades and concave surface. It comes with a premium nylon sheath so you can keep the blade protected for seasons to come.

Get it here.

17. Natural Jute Twine

Every serious gardener knows how valuable jute twine can be, which is why it pays to buy some now, so you have it on hand for the growing season. Whether you use it to stake up your tomatoes or mend matches in your cucumber netting, there’s a good chance you’ll find more use for it than you expect.

Get it here.

18. Rolling Lawn Aerator Gardening Tool for Grass and Soil

Keep your lawn looking its best without resorting to chemical amendments by keeping it aerated with this rolling gardening tool. Run it over your sod or soil, and it will perforate your lawn to improve air exchange, improve water and fertilizer intake, and reduce the risk of puddling. Simple and efficient to use, this tool is made from sturdy steel to last for years to come.

Get it here.

19. BackJoy Kneeler For Gardening

Stop allowing sore knees to prevent you from getting your workout in by using the BackJoy kneeler for all your outdoor work. This kneeler relieves pressure on your joints so that you don’t feel pain when you kneel, and they make even uneven surfaces simple to work on. You can also bring the Kneeler indoors for a more comfortable kneeling surface for household chores.

Get it here.

20. ROOT ASSASSIN Garden Shovel

Don’t let deep-set tree roots cramp your gardening style this year; the Root Assassin can remove them in half the time of standard tools. The alternating beveled teeth tear in opposite directions, meaning that you can cut away at roots with every movement. The sturdy handle gives you a secure grip so you can rely on body weight (not your back) to get the roots under control.

Get it here.

21. Youngju Daejanggan Premium Hand Plow Hoe

Forged through traditional methods, this Korean-style Ho-Mi tool is designed to make hand cultivation easier than ever. The innovative yet ergonomic shape makes it practical for digging up roots and scraping away weeds while protecting your plants from harm.  It takes some time to master its technique, but you’ll be glad you did.

Get it here.

22. Earthwise TC70016 Electric Tiller

If you’re looking for a simple way to prep your soil for planting, an Earthwise tiller is a method to consider. Designed for medium to large garden beds, this eco-friendly alternative to gas-powered equipment also works well as a weed control tool. Once fully charged, all you need to do is press the start button to get it running.

Get it here.

23. Carbonized Willow Flex Trellis

Looking for a convenient divider between your plants or an easy to install trellis for climbing vines? Consider the carbonized willow flex trellis. Not only will it live your landscape a unique look, but you can also use it for indoor décor projects.

Get it here.

24. Veroyi Soil pH Meter

To grow healthy plants, you need to give them a strong foundation. The Veroyi pH meter makes it easy to see precisely what you need to change about your garden soil to meet your growth goals. This 3-in-1 device works to monitor your soil acidity, moisture levels, and even daily sunlight source level.

Get it here.

25. 30% Pure Vinegar

Simple as it sounds, vinegar is one of the most useful compounds you can give your plants. As an all-natural alternative to conventional pesticides and herbicides, you can use vinegar in a variety of ways to improve your home and garden. Learn more here!

Get it here.

26. Botanicare CAL-MAG Plus Plant Supplement

Don’t waste your time cultivating plants that aren’t set up to thrive. Consider infusing them with this natural nutritional supplement that gives your plants a highly beneficial dose of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as well as trace amounts of calcium, magnesium, and iron for maximum results.

Get it here.

27. Dalen Products P TP-60 Trellis

Give your vining vegetables the support they need with this long-lasting nylon trellis. Heavy duty yet subtle, this trellis will hold up to even your heavy producers. You’ll get sixty feet with each order, which should be enough space for plenty of cucumbers, beans, peas, and your favorite ornamentals.

Get it here.

28. RSVP Fabric Collapsible Market Basket

Make harvesting hassle-free this growing season with a collapsible market basket. Made of aluminum and durable fabric, you can take this basket into the garden with you to collect fresh produce effortlessly. The soft foam handle gives you a comfortable grip so you don’t need to worry about the basket getting too heavy as you collect dinner.

Get it here.

29. Garden Safe Brand Insecticidal Soap

Pests might be the bane of the gardener’s existence, but there are steps you can take to keep them under control without resorting to potentially dangerous products. Consider this insecticidal soap, which is safe for organic gardening and can be used up to the day of harvest without risk. Just spray it on the plants at risk, and the fatty acid salts within the specially selected soaps will give you a sufficient level of pest control.

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30. BONIDE Ready-to-Use Copper Fungicide

Nothing is worse than losing a crop to blight or downy mildew, so fight the fungus with a ready to use copper fungicide. This product won’t burn plants but instead relies on a naturally occurring fatty acid to ruin the habitat space for damaging fungi.

Get it here.

31. Ashman Galvanized Garden Stakes Landscape Staples

It’s a terrible feeling to spend time laying down a gardening tarp, only to have it blow out of place in the wind. Keep things secured with landscape staples. You can use them for stapling down landscape fabric, weed barriers, chicken wire, raised bed edges and much more quickly.

Get it here.

32. Cat Paw Garden Genie Gloves

Looking to get great traction as you work in the soil while protecting your nails? Consider these claw-like gloves! Not only do they make it easier to hand dig in your garden, but they protect your fingernails from damage and have a waterproof coating that keeps your hands fresh even as you work in the dirt.

Get it here.

33. Dewitt Weed Barrier Fabric

When it comes to weed control in the garden, you have a few options. You could spend hours on your hands and knees each week keeping the situation under control or spray a potentially toxic herbicide to cut them down before they become a threat. A better choice? Put down weed barrier fabric to choke them out as soon as they sprout. This lets you keep your garden space fresh and weed-free until you’re ready to plant for easier maintenance.

Get it here.

33. Dibblet Gardening Planting Tool

If you struggle to plant at the right depth, a dibblet will save you some struggle. With an ergonomic handle that keeps your wrist relaxed, this durable tool contains a measurement scale to show you precisely how deep you need to go for every plant variety.

Get it here.

34. Berry Ave Broom Holder and Garden Tool Organizer

Keeping the garden toolshed organized is no small task, but this broom and hoe holder will help you declutter. You can hang it over a doorframe for easy access to keep your equipment off the ground. When everything has a place, you can access it faster for more efficient gardening.

Get it here.

35. Sloggers Women’s Waterproof Garden Shoe

Keep your feet dry and comfortable this gardening year with a pair of sloggers. These shoes are designed specifically for women and come with heavy duty tread for excellent traction in the muddiest conditions. You can hose them off when dirty to extend their lifespan.

Get it here.

36. KCOOL Potato Grow Bags

If you’re interested in a new way to grow root vegetables, consider the Kcool potato grow bags. This durable, environmentally-friendly fabric is designed for planting potatoes and other root vegetables, and you can peel back the opening to observe the growth status at any time. Once your spuds have reached your preferred size, just open the flap to pour out the soil and your harvest.  

Get it here.

37. Hutzler Garden Colander

Make the trip from garden row to kitchen table one step easier with this garden colander. You can harvest your greens into the container and then wash them directly in it for one step prep. Any loose dirt shakes out naturally so you aren’t left with a dirty harvest bag at the end. Best of all, the colander is dishwasher safe.  

Get it here.

38. EarthBox Chocolate Container Gardening System

Looking for a self-contained gardening system for a few front porch plants? The EarthBox system gives you everything you need to get started, and the plastic components are made from durable, UV-stabilized materials that should last for growing seasons to come. Plus, it’s self-watering! You can fill it with 2.0 cubic feet of growing medium for great results.

Get it here.

39. Fiskars ” 4-Claw Weeder

Do you feel like dandelions are the bane of your gardening existence? While these plants are both tasty and nutritious, it stands to reason you don’t want them overtaking your yard. The Fiskars 4-Claw weeder will permanently remove dandelions, thistles, and other fast-spreading plants without spraying or hurting your knees to yank them off. The long length and offset handle creates an ergonomic design that lets you remove many weeds with little effort.

Get it here.

40. Yard Butler Twist Tiller

Breaking up big soil clods isn’t always easy, especially at the start of the growing season. The Yard Bulter tiller simplifies the process by giving you an ergonomic grip so you can use your body weight to loosen up the soil. This versatile tool loosens, aerates and tills your beds so you don’t need to pull out gas-guzzling equipment to prep your beds before planting.

Get it here.

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Don’t let the growing season catch you unprepared this year. Invest in the right tools, and you’re sure to bring home your best crop yet.

Read Next: 20 Cut & Come Again Veggies For An Endless Supply Of Free Food

The post 40 Genius Gardening Tools You Never Knew You Needed appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

It’s no secret that the state of the environment is dire these days- and the products you purchase are part of the problem. National Geographic reports that over 90 percent of all plastic is never recycled, and the United States alone produces over 500 million pieces of plastic straw waste each day- much of which lands in the planet’s oceans.

In light of these concerns, how can you be a smarter consumer? It turns out there are numerous opportunities for investing in more sustainable alternatives to standard products, and this article will give you some ideas for getting started.

1. Langsprit Eco-Friendly Reusable Sandwich & Snack Bags

If you’re sick of throwing away your plastic sandwich bags after lunch each day, it’s time to upgrade to a reusable variety. Langsprit’s bags are meant to last through hundreds of lunches, and they are certified BPA and PVC free. Simple to turn inside out and wipe down when they get dirty, you can even toss the bags into your washing machine. Each order provides you with a 3-pack (one small, medium and large).

2. Reolink Argus 2 Solar-Powered Security Camera

Protecting your home from intruders is no small task, and the last thing you want is to be stuck with a security camera that sucks your energy supply. That’s the appeal of the Reolink Argus 2; this 1080p HD security camera can be powered by a weather-resistant solar panel to save you money AND keep your carbon footprint under control.

3. Bamboo ‘Paper’ Towels

Paper towels might be convenient, but they lead to a lot of landfill waste and clear cut forests. You can cut your consumption down by turning to bamboo towels instead. Not only are they stronger, more absorbent and more durable than standard towels, but each roll is made from sustainably harvested, certified organic bamboo. Best of all, the sheets are reusable over 100 times each- just pop them in your washing machine when you want to freshen them up.

4. Bee Wild Co. Beeswax Food Wraps

Plastic cling wrap is convenient and cheap, but single-use plastic is perilous of for the environment. You can reduce the waste by turning to Beeswax Wraps instead. These all-natural covers let you store leftovers and protect cut produce, and they mold into any shape you want just from the warmth of your hands. Each order comes with three wraps sized small, medium, and large so you’re likely to have the right sized cover for any job in the kitchen.

5. Ewedoos Eco-Friendly Yoga Mat with Alignment Lines

If you’re ready to make your workout more sustainable this season, it might be time to invest in an eco-friendly yoga mat. Each Ewedoos mat is made with upgraded TPE material that creates a robust and durable exercise platform that’s free of latex and PVC. As an added benefit, the mat boasts a non-slip surface and alignment lines meant to help you master the right positioning for every pose.

6. Amber Glass Bottle Bottles with Pump

Single-use soap and cosmetic bottles create a lot of waste, so a better option is to buy your products in bulk (or better yet, make your own!) If you want to keep things looking clean and cohesive while hiding those ugly bulk bottles, consider investing in these stunning glass ones instead. You can clean them in the dishwasher between products, ensuring that this convenient soap solution lasts you for years.

7. DanSoap All Natural Laundry Detergent

There’s a shocking number of potentially troubling ingredients in most detergents, so it makes sense to seek out less toxic solutions. After all, there is no escaping questionable compounds when they’re buried in your clothes! DanSoap All Natural Detergent offers you a 100 percent natural, chemical-free formula for washing your clothes that is free of dyes, artificial fragrances, and troubling compounds like petrochemicals, parabens, and phthalates. The highly concentrated, plant-based formula is 100 percent biodegradable and contains just three ingredients, including non-GMO coconut oil.

8. Gift Wrap with Wildflower Seeds

Do you feel guilty about tossing all that wrapping paper each holiday season or birthday? Consider using wildflower-seeded gift wrap next season! This 100 percent recycled paper contains hundreds of wildflower seeds, meaning that you can bury it three inches in the soil after use for a spring crop of gorgeous blooms.

9. SOARAISE Portable Solar Charger

Stop relying on fossil fuels to power your electronics- turn to solar panels instead. This Soarraise portable charger has 24000mAh capacity, meaning that you can charge most phones up to ten times before you need to get more sunlight, making it perfect for travel or camping trips. As an added benefit, it comes with a built-in LED light for better nighttime visibility.

10. GLORYBREW Biodegradable Coffee Filters

If you’re in love with your Keurig but can’t stand the waste created by those single-use pods, it’s time to turn to Glorybrew brand coffee instead. They provide 100 percent compostable K-Cups made from bio-based materials, which offers a greener alternative to even recyclable pods. The coffee they contain is no joke either; you will sip on Rainforest Alliance certified beans that were sustainably grown without any additives or preservatives. Use these pods with any K-Cup coffee machine, and you’ll put a big dent in your coffee waste each morning.

11. Bamboo Toothbrush

It’s easy to ignore how much waste proper dental hygiene can create, but the truth is that all those plastic toothbrushes tossed in the trash start to add up. You can limit your impact by sticking with biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes instead. Though they’re just as durable and beneficial for your mouth as standard varieties, these brushes break down without polluting the planet.

12. Reusable Makeup Remover Pads

When it comes to greening up your beauty routine, most people focus on switching out the products they use. You can make an even more significant impact by getting rid of single-use facial cleaners and relying on these reusable remover pads instead. This 13 piece kit is made of 100 percent organic bamboo, and they are designed to remove makeup, pollutants and dead skin from your face to leave you with a cleaner, healthier complexion. Using this kit can prevent you from tossing thousands of disposable cotton balls- a win for the environment and your wallet.

13. Brotrade Reusable Mesh Produce Bags  

If you already bring reusable bags to the grocery store but feel guilty about every plastic produce bag that lands in your shopping cart, it’s time to invest in a greener alternative like reusable mesh bags. These bags are durable yet lightweight, and they make it possible to wash produce directly in the bags. You’ll get twelve bags in each order: three large, six medium, and three small.

14. Sweese Porcelain Tea Mug with Infuser

If your daily tea habit is causing you to toss too many bags into the trash (there’s plastic in many tea bags), it’s time to invest in an infuser mug so you can transition to loose leaf instead. This quality ceramic mug will help you brew your perfect cup, and the lid doubles as a trivet to hold the infuser when you’ve seeped the leaves long enough. Best of all, the whole apparatus is dishwasher and microwave safe.

15. OLIVIA & AIDEN All Natural Air Freshener  

Forget conventional air fresheners, and consider using an activated charcoal deodorizer bag from Olivia and Aiden instead! Each 200-gram bag will absorb unpleasant odors, and they can be used everywhere from your car to a closet, gym bag, bathroom, and even pet litter box. Best of all, they are completely biodegradable and won’t expose you to potentially troubling compounds.

16. Fuji EnviroMAX Super Alkaline AAA Batteries

Looking to invest in environmentally sustainable batteries? Fuji EnvironMAX batteries might be the answer. They boast a ten-year shelf-life, are made from recyclable materials and are free of mercury and cadmium – two heavy metals that are harmful to your body AND the environment.

17. Reusable Organic Hemp Cone Coffee Filter

Stop feeling guilty about tossing away your coffee filters each morning by switching over to Bolio reusable filters. Each filter makes perfect pour-over coffee, and they can be used hundreds of times before they deteriorate. You can feel even better about your purchase knowing that each filter is made from 100 percent certified organic materials.

18. Micro-Pop Glass Popcorn Popper-Maker

If you want an environmental smart option for your mid-day popcorn fix, consider investing in a microwave-safe glass popcorn maker. The design boasts heat-resistant borosilicate glass and a shape optimized to reduce the risk of burning, and the entire fixture is 100 percent BPA free.

19. Amazon Kindle

Though it might seem counterintuitive to stop buying paper books, you’ll save a tremendous amount of waste by purchasing books for your e-reader like the Amazon Kindle instead. This cuts down on waste from the paper production cycle and prevents energy wastes from cutting down trees, producing the books, and transporting them across the country.

20. Biodegradable Silver Chunky Eco Glitter

If you’re looking to add some glam to your beauty routine but don’t love the idea of synthetic ingredients, this eco-friendly glitter is the way to go. Made with a modified regenerated cellulose base, this 100 percent biodegradable glitter has a silky soft feel that your skin will love.

21. Biodegradable Dog Poop Bags

We hate to break it to you, but your pooch’s poop isn’t exactly great for the environment. These 100 percent biodegradable dog poop bags will compost within three months in the soil, rendering each bag to nothing but carbon dioxide and water.

It’s going to take some concentrated effort to make a personal difference in your lifestyle for the environment, but committing to making a stand for sustainability with your purchases is one way you can make a difference.

The post 21 Genius Products That Are Saving The Planet One Step At A Time appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

Finding the right gift for the people you care about is far from easy, especially when you add the pressure of the approaching holidays. The good news is that there are more options than ever for sourcing gifts for the health and wellness lover. Whether your friend spends every Sunday morning on a long run or instead prefers to master her meditation routine, at least a few of these 35 gift ideas are guaranteed to go over well.

1. Breathable Bamboo Sheets

There’s nothing worse than sleeping in sheets that get wet and clammy, so gift your friend who cares about rest with top quality bamboo sheets from Bedsure. The material naturally wicks moisture, which makes them either warm and cool whenever you need it. Made from 100% sustainable bamboo, you can feel good about your gift’s impact on the planet too.

Get more details here.

2. Metal straws

For those who are passionate about keeping plastic out of the oceans, a set of reusable metal straws is a thoughtful gift to give (and receive). This cute set of straws have a natural bend in them, and they come with a specialized brush to keep them clean.

Get more details here.

3. Moleskine Smart Writing Set

For the friend who is always taking her bullet journal to the next level, it’s hard to beat the thoughtfulness of a Moleskine Smart Writing set. This unique pen and notebook put everything you write in a smartphone app so that you can pull it up again whenever you want to. This makes it a stellar option for tracking wellness goals, charting your exercise, making grocery lists and more.

Get more details here.

4. Prepd Pack Lunchbox

For those with a passion for meal prepping, this cute and functional lunchbox is the perfect gift. It boasts an uncompromisingly modern design and is made from high-quality bamboo that separates quality plastic containers, and it offers a magnetic space to keep your utensils connected inside.

Get more details here.

5. YnM Weighted Blanket

Gift a twist on the classic holiday blanket this year by giving everyone on your list a weighted blanket instead. The soothing heft of each blanket offers profound health benefits, and many people find that they reduce their stress, anxiety, and insomnia by mimicking the feeling of a hug. Strive to buy a blanket that comes in at 10 percent of your friend’s body weight for the most significant impact.

Get more details here.

6. Motiv Ring Tracker

Is your fashion-forward friend interested in tracking her health stats but not willing to let everyone know she’s wearing a smartwatch? Consider gifting her the Motiv Ring Tracker instead. This tiny tracker can measure your daily steps, total calories burned, and even the intensity, duration, and distance of your workouts. The ring weighs less than a penny and connects via Bluetooth to your phone so that you can track your progress all day long. The ring is 100% waterproof, and it provides you with a three-day battery life per charge.

Get more details here.

7. Herbivore Botanicals Rose Quartz Facial Roller

Those who have never used a stone roller on their skin don’t know what they’re missing, so help your friend feel the benefits this year with this stunning rose quartz massager. The two-sided roller makes it easy to focus on the delicate parts of the face, and regular sessions will help you soothe your skin to aid the functioning of the lymphatic system. Best of all, the stunning rose quartz stone is linked with the heart chakra.

Get more details here.

8. Slip Silk Sleep Mask

The research shows getting good sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health each day, so gift your wellness-minded friend with better rest with the Tranquility Therapeutic sleep mask. The soft silk blocks out light, and the quality strap is designed to stay in place at night, despite any tossing and turning.

Get more details here.

9. Taylor Bluetooth Scale

If their weight is the least of the information that your friend wants from her scale, consider gifting the Taylor Bluetooth Scale this year. It tells you your weight along with estimated body fat percentage, calorie analysis, and more, and it stares these stats with any linked smartphone for easy tracking.

Get more details here.

10. BlenderBottle Insulated Stainless Steel Shaker

Few things are more disappointing than a poorly-mixed protein shake, so help your friend find consistency this year with this easy use Blender Bottle. It’s quality materials mean that you’ll never need to worry about spilling, and the revolutionary design keeps drinks cold for hours after you make them. In case the ingredients need a little extra stirring, the included BlenderBall whisk helps you remix even the thickest ingredients for a smoother drink.

Get more details here.

11. Fitbit Versa

If you have a friend with a passion for tracking every fitness stat, there’s no better gift than the Fitbit Versa. This attractive smartwatch has a simple to navigate touch screen, and it automatically tracts every workout you complete while wearing it. The watch is water resistant up to 50 meters, and you can set it up for smartphone notifications, texts, and calendar alerts as well.

Get more details here.

12. Microplane Herb Mill

Fresh herbs add unique fragrance to home-cooked meals, but they can be a pain to deal with. Gift your friend gourmet dinner simplicity this year with a Microplane herb mill. The stainless steel design makes quick work of processing fresh herbs so that you can add more flavor and less sodium to your meals.

Get more details here.

13. Hutzler Produce Saver

There’s nothing worse than dealing with produce that spoils before you can get to it, especially if you only need to use part at a time. The Hutzler Produce saver can save you time and money by keeping fruits and vegetables from spoiling as fast. You can buy them in almost any shape ranging from green peppers to grapefruit to extend the life of your partially cut produce.

Get more details here.

14. IPO Slim Folding Treadmill 

Treadmills provide a powerful workout, but they can be bulky and cumbersome to leave in your house. The IPO folding treadmill solves this problem with an ultra-slim design that can fit in tight spaces like under your bed or couch. Setting it up is simple, making it a revolutionary way for apartment dwellers to ensure they get a quality workout.

Get more details here.

15. Zyliss Vegetable Steamer

Steaming veggies is one of the healthiest ways to eat them, but the bulky equipment necessary can take up too much room in a small kitchen. A better option is to use the Zyliss steamer. The foldable design can handle large and small portions, and the entire steamer collapses down for flat storage when you’re finished.

Get more details here.

16. CycleOps Magnus Smart Trainer

Snowy roads might ruin outdoor workouts, but you don’t need to let them slow down your friend’s workouts. Gift them the CycleOps Smart Trainer, and any bike can work indoors. Once attached, you can use it to create controlled resistance to personalize your workout difficulty, and the integrated Bluetooth technology makes it convenient to sync with your favorite virtual training software.

Get more details here.

17. Gaiam Zafu Meditation Pillow

Make your friend’s meditation habit more rewarding this year with a meditation pillow. This decorative pillow is designed to help you maintain proper posture while sitting down, ensuring that you’ll deal with fewer distractions throughout your routine. The cover is machine washable, meaning that you can easily keep this pillow looking nice through years of meditation sessions.

Get more details here.

18. Bose SoundSport Free Wireless Headphones

Don’t let your friend’s workout get compromised from inconvenient headphones- the Bose soundproof sports headphones are the perfect option for those who don’t like to mess with cords while they exercise. Each earbud is sweat and weather resistant, and they offer up to five hours of continuous play before they need to be charged. Best of all, you can track them down if they go missing through the connected app.

Get more details here.

19. See Sense Rear Light

Help your favorite cycling friend stay safe on the roads this year with this bright bicycle light that keeps him easy to spot. Its smart design blinks faster in low light conditions to keep bikers extra safe. The light also syncs with smartphones to provide crash and theft alerts, and it improves a biker’s visibility to cars even in daylight.

Get more details here.

20. Nite Ize Glow-in-the-Dark Frisbee

Don’t let sunset end your frisbee game; this glow in the dark disc has ultra-light LED lights to keep things well lit so that the fun can continue.

Get more details here.

21. TriggerPoint Grid Foam Roller

Help your favorite fitness fanatic work out those post-exercise aches and pains with a top quality TriggerPoint Grid roller. The design’s rigid, hollow core offers the right amount of flex, and the multi-density foam on top ensures that you’ll always target the muscle groups that need it most.

Get more details here.

22. Sanuk Yoga Sling 2 Prints

Feet deserve to be pampered after a long workout, which is why you should consider gifting your friend with a cute pair of Sanuk Yoga sling shoes. Their footbeds are constructed from recycled yoga mats, and each pair is designed to be comfy, supportive for sore arches, and stylish for walking out of the gym.

Get more details here.

23. Roku Streaming Stick+

Sure, the Roku stick is great for watching Netflix, but did you know you can also use it to stream thousands of workout videos from across the web? The stick is easy to connect to almost any TV, and you’ll be able to take your favorite channels wherever you go.

Get more details here.

24. Ultimate Ears MEGABLAST

Give your friend’s life a built-in soundtrack with these top quality speakers from Ultimate Ears. Their ultra-powerful sound projection makes them perfect for blasting sound in 360 degrees, and they are designed to be fully waterproof and weatherproof, meaning that you can take them anywhere without worry.

Get more details here.

25. \fit Smart Yoga Mat

If your friend wants to take her home yoga sessions to the next level this year, consider gifting her a /fit smart mat, which connects with an Amazon Alexa to guide her through each routine. Best of all, this non-slip mat will fold up automatically in a single motion, making more ultra-convenient storage when you’re not in session.

Get more details here.

26. Kettle Gryp

Frequent travelers know how difficult it can be to take their strength-training workout with them, which is why the kettle Gryp makes the perfect gift. This innovative device turns any standard hand weight into a custom kettle ball, helping you expand your range of motion and boost the benefits that you can get from minimal workout equipment.

Get more details here.

27. Mighty Audio Spotify Music Player

There’s nothing worse than feeling weighted down on a long run because of your hefty smartphone, and the Might Audio Spotify music player lets you workout without the bulk. This small device enables you to sync your Spotify library so that you can play up to four hours of continuous music per charge, no matter whether you have service or not. It’s the perfect option for long workouts in places without reliable service.

Get more details here.

28. Ab Roller

Looking to give your friend a workout boost without making him resort to crunches? This ab roller wheel offers a stellar workout in a short amount of time. Simple to use yet deceivingly brutal, this workout tool tones and conditions your core, and it’s conveniently sized for easy traveling.

Get more details here.

29. Mission Enduracool Microfiber Cooling Towel

Nothing ruins a productive workout faster than feeling overheated, so gift your workout friend with this cooling towel that’s designed to regulate your body temperature on contact. Soaking it in water immediately drops its temperature, helping you find quick relief on even the hottest days.

Get more details here.

30. URPOWER Running Belt

Keep things convenient and streamlines while working out with this quality running belt. The lightweight neoprene design provides space for two water bottles, and the included waterproof, tear-resistant pockets offer plenty of space for storing your phone, keys, inhaler and more.

Get more details here.

31. Serious Steel Assisted Pull Up Bands

This thoughtful gift for any health and wellness lover will help them take their workout to the next level. These quality fitness brands come in a set of six so that you can optimize the resistance for your preferred stretches to boost the benefits of every move.

Get more details here.

32. Body Back Buddy

Sitting too long can lead to painful knots in your back, and not everyone has the time and money to make it to the chiropractor. A better option for relief is gifting your friend with a Body Back Buddy. This innovative massager is made from high-quality plastic and is designed for convenient access to the hard-to-reach spots in the middle of your back. It doesn’t take much exertion to start feeling relief with this massage stick, meaning that it will be a gift used long after the holidays are over.

Get more details here.

33. Red Paddle Co Paddleboard

Does your friend crave the freedom of paddle boarding but lack the storage space? Gift him this inflatable board that packs down into a backpack for ultra-convenience. You can keep it in your car until the moment the mood strikes you, and an afternoon out on the water will never be more achievable.

Get more details here.

34. Tangram Factory LED-Embedded Smart Jump Rope

Help your active friend add some playfulness to her workout with this LED jump rope. Not only does it track your stats as you jump, but it also shows them in real time in front of you as the jump rope spins around. All your workout stats are synced with your smartphone afterward, and you can even program it for interval training sessions for a better workout.

Get more details here.

35. Ninja Ninja Nutri Bowl Duo with Auto IQ

Make it more convenient than ever to blend those post-workout smoothies with the Ninja Ninja Nutri Bowl. This powerful blender also works as a poof processor, meaning that it will become one of the most-used kitchen tools for whoever is lucky enough to receive one. Best of all, its Auto-IQ setting makes it possible to turn the blender on and let it run until it finishes.

Get more details here.

The post 35 Brilliant Gift Ideas For The Health & Wellness Lover appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

In the world of raising livestock, some of the smallest players are making the most significant impact.

Insect farming is growing in popularity, and the benefits are impressive even for casual cultivators.

It doesn’t take much money to establish a bug-based farm, and when managed correctly you can transform it into a steady source of side income.

But why would you consider welcoming more insects into your home, and what does it take to find success as an insect farmer? Let’s look closer at the facts below.

What Is Insect Farming?

In short, insect farming is the process of raising insects intentionally for a larger purpose. This might include human consumption, pet food, or even textile production (as with silkworms).

The demand for farm-raised insects has increased dramatically in the past two years, partly because an increase in the popularity of bug-eating reptiles as pets, and because it’s becoming increasingly acceptable to add edible insects to your diet.

Bugs are more than a food fad. Instead, they are a sober reflection of the fact that global food production needs to increase over 50% by 2050 just to keep our ever-growing population fed.

Insects are a low-impact protein source that can nourish people far more efficiently than traditional forms of meat. But, not all insects are good to eat, and not all edible insects take well to being farmed. For success with treating insects as livestock, you need to know what types to focus on.

8 Uses For Home-Raised Insects

Why would you want to raise insects as livestock to begin with? It turns out that they have plenty of advantages in the following ways.

1. For Yourself

If you’re able to get past your disgust of consuming insects, you might be amazed at how beneficial they are for your health.

Bite for bite, crickets contain more protein than beef and chicken, and their fat content is the kind that boosts your beneficial cholesterol levels.

Read Next: 8 Reasons You Should Add Edible Insects To Your Diet

2. For the Environment

The UN reports that eating insects is one of the most sustainable ways to secure protein on the planet.

For every one acre of land required to produce mealworms, as many as 10 acres are needed to provide the equivalent in beef protein.

That leads to one-tenth the space requirements and greenhouse gas emissions. Likewise, insects use less water than standard livestock, and they are more efficient at converting food into body mass.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, crickets require six times less feed than cattle, one quarter as much as sheep, and half as much as pigs and chickens to produce the equivalent amount of protein.

3. For Your Chickens

If you have a backyard flock of birds (or want to sell to those that do) breeding mealworms is the perfect way to supply your poultry with protein. Raising mealworms or crickets provides you with an easy snack to feed your chickens, especially when they’re in the middle of a molt.

And don’t exclude indoor birds. Cockatiels, cockatoos, and most types of parrots also appreciate an occasional insect snack.

4. For Your Home Food Waste

Upwards of 40% of all food in the United States is wasted, and most of that winds up in the landfill. There are few things flies love more than feasting on your food scraps, and it’s possible to put them to work as natural composters with a black soldier fly setup.

You can set up a system where you feed flies on your food scraps so that they lay their eggs in the compost, which consequently creates a maggot supply for feeding your backyard chickens. The benefits are twofold: free chicken food and a way to minimize your food scraps.

Learn the details behind building a black soldier fly nursery in the video below.

5. For Feeding Reptiles

If your lizard is the love of your life, you can ensure he gets top quality (and affordable) food by raising his meals at home. While live crickets aren’t expensive at the pet store, you’ll cut down feeding costs considerably by raising them yourself. And if your supply starts to get out of control just sell them to your pet store.

6. For Fishing Bait

Forget buying that overpriced container of earthworms before your next fishing trip; home-raised crickets or worms are an inexpensive substitute.

Just pop a bag of crickets in the freezer a few hours before your trip, and they’ll be ready for use as bait

7. For Your Garden

Are the aphids getting out of control on your tomato plants this season?

Consider raising ladybugs to release onto the plants. Ladybugs, lacewings, and hoverflies all adore feasting on aphids and taking steps to encourage them to inhabit your plants will help them stay healthier.

8. For Making Money

Almost all homesteaders are looking for ways to make extra income on their property, and raising insects can help you do just that. There’s minimal overhead for getting started, meaning that you can begin making money in the first few weeks.

5 Tips To Profit From Raising Insects as Livestock

While raising insects as livestock is relatively straightforward compared to other animal varieties, there are still some tips to help you get started.

1. Start Small Scale

Insects are tiny by nature, so there’s no reason to scale up your operation before you’re ready. Master the basics and get bigger over time.

2. Watch Out For Disease

Bugs often attack other bugs, and the wrong infestation can wipe out your operation. Watch out for fruit flies, and keep your operation undercover (literally) to prevent outside species from contaminating them.

3. Check Your Market Needs

Pay attention to the insect needs in your area, and you can choose the variety that makes sense for you. After all, the last thing you want if you’re the owner of thousands of crickets is to hear that your local pet store is turning down suppliers and that your region’s gardeners are desperate for more ladybugs.

4. Be Willing To Experiment

One advantage that insects have over other livestock is their short lifespans, which means that you can try something new with each generation and continuously hone your technique. This will help you achieve better results over time.

5. Advertise Locally

If people don’t know about your bug supply, they won’t think to purchase them from you. Advertise as much as you can: on Facebook, in pet stores, Craigslist, and your local newspaper. The more you get the word out, the faster you’ll move your stock along.

The Basics Behind Insect Farming

Once you’ve committed to trying to raise insects as livestock, it’s time to begin ironing out the details. The first step? Deciding which variety to start with.

6 Insect Species To Raise For Profit

Dozens of insects can be raised at home, so it’s common to be confused about where to start. Below are some common insect varieties and the ways you can begin breeding them at home.

1. Crickets:

Crickets are a preferred form of insect livestock for providing for both pet stores and human consumption. Most caged reptiles regularly eat crickets, which means a home-raised supply can be in high demand.

Though this insect is notoriously difficult to breed for non-experts, you can learn the secrets for success with resources like Cricket Breeding Made Easy and setting up a cricket breeding habitat for the magic to take place.

2. Cockroaches:

Commonly referred to as woodies, home-raised cockroaches are a convenient treat for all insect-eating pets, and they are a hardy species to start with. So long as you can keep your roaches in a consistently dark, humid location, they should thrive and provide you with a consistent supply of offspring to use or sell.

3. Mealworms:

Small, low-maintenance, and quick to reproduce; what’s not to like about raising mealworms as livestock?

Instructions for getting started couldn’t be easier to follow, and you’ll need little more than three plastic containers to get started.

To promote optimal growth, plan to fill the bottom of their containers with wheat bran to serve as dinner and bedding material. You’ll need at least 60 mealworm larva to get started, and from that point, you can continue to grow and maintain the base population.

4. Red Wigglers (Worm Castings):

Whether you garden, fish, or raise backyard chickens, you’re sure to find plenty of uses for home-grown red wigglers and the castings they produce.

It’s easier than you think to set up a worm bin, and in a matter of weeks, your food scraps will be converted into baby worms and nutrient-rich castings (worm poop).

This high-quality compost is perfect for growing vegetables, and you can feed any extra worms to your chickens or add them to your outdoor compost pile to speed up the decomposition process.

5. Silkworms:

For those looking for something different, consider diving into sericulture by raising silkworms.

You’ll need a regular supply of mulberry leaves to keep this finicky species healthy, so this insect livestock project is best for those who already have established trees. It takes about 20-30 pounds of fresh leaves to supply 100 worms with food for a month, so don’t take this concern lightly!

Learn more about raising silkworms at Mother Earth News.

6. Ladybugs:

This scarlet-hued garden staple is as fun to raise as it is to release outdoors. You need only a simple artificial habit to keep this species content, though you’ll need to provide a steady food supply to keep them thriving beyond a few weeks.

You’ll need a clear plastic container with plenty of ventilation, and a damp paper towel to keep things humid. Sticks and leaves provide habit space for the insects to lay eggs, and a cotton ball soaked in honey water serves as a substitute food supply until you release your beetles back to the aphids.

Release the beetles and any unhatched eggs into the garden every few weeks, and you’ll start to increase its overall beneficial bug population.

Raising insects as livestock can benefit your diet, your wallet, and the environment. Commit to understanding the world of invertebrates a little better today, and you might be surprised how rewarding the process can be.

Still not sure you want to raise and eat insects? Our article on the reasons why we should all consider adding edible insects to our diets might convince you otherwise.

The post 6 Insects You Can Raise For Impressive Profits appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

Are you ready to take your diet in a new direction? Then consider the impact of adding edible insects to the menu. While the idea might trigger revulsion at first, there’s a strong case to be made that the world would be a healthier, more sustainable place if we all stopped turning our noses up to bugs and found ways to incorporate them into our meals.

Two billion people already enjoy insects each day, so why not add yourself to the list? If you’re ready to explore the idea, keep reading to learn the top reasons to consider introducing insects to your diet.

1. More Sustainable than Standard Meat

It’s no secret these days that our modern diets are dangerous for the environment. A simple steak dinner requires over 2,000 gallons of fresh water to land on your plate, and that’s not including the irrigation needs for the veggies on the side. Much of this waste comes from the millions of acres of grains grown as animal feed- an inefficient process that contributes to the almost 18 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. There’s never been a more crucial time to change your diet, as the World Bank expects that we will need to produce up to 50 percent more food to feed the expanding global population by 2050.

Eating insects is better for the environment. This is because they require less land for cultivation, we can eat their entire bodies (consequently leading to less waste), and they are cold-blooded. This means that they need to eat less food for their body weight than warm-blooded animals. In other words, the greenhouse emissions generated to produce a serving of insects are only a fraction of what it takes to put meat on your plate.

2. Stellar Protein Source

Pound for pound, eating insects provides you with more fat and protein than conventional animal products. Pork and crickets both have the same amount of protein, meaning that incorporating insects into your diet won’t leave you hungrier than before.

3. Filled with Nutrients

When you eat pork, beef, or chicken, you aren’t eating the whole animal. Instead, only the nutrients within their muscles land on your plate. Most insects, in contrast, are eaten whole or ground into a powder, and their exoskeletons often contain impressive amounts of calcium, zinc, iron, and even vitamin B12, a compound rarely found in animal products.

Compared by the ounce, bugs tend to have more calories than standard livestock. 3.5 ounces of mealworms, for instance, have 247 calories, compared to 152 for the same amount of chicken. Likewise, bee larva has 850% more iron than beef by weight.

4. A More Ethical form of Meat

Many people who choose to avoid eating meat do so because they don’t want to cause pain and suffering to animals. Eating insects might be an exception, as some reports show that the structure of their nervous system means that they don’t feel pain. Turning to bugs as an ethical food source might reduce the number of other forms of livestock that are butchered for food.

5. Can Counteract Malnutrition

In many parts of the world, protein deficiencies are a significant concern because of inaccessibility to quality animal products. Raising insects can combat this problem, as they are nutrient dense, filled with healthy fats, and cheap and efficient to take care of at a household scale.

As many kinds of insects are nutrient dense and filled with healthy fats, they are considered by many to be a promising food source for societies that struggle with malnutrition. According to research from Time.com, bee larva ranks the highest, even when compared to standard meat products.

6. You Can Raise Them Yourself

If you want to find ways to take control of your food supply but don’t have the space for traditional livestock, raising insects can be a stellar solution. It’s simple to start a bug farm- all you need is a ventilated container and a warm space for raising them. You can even buy your starter population online. When it’s time to cull the herd, stick your worms in the freezer for a few hours before cooking them.

7. Eating Bugs Could Combat Obesity

Thanks to their impressive levels of protein and healthy fats, insects are a smart snack if you’re striving to lose weight. As they are low in carbohydrates while remaining filling, insects are considered more nutritious than beef or pork, making them a smart meal substitution for those who are watching their calorie consumption.

8. Disgust Over Insects is a Cultural Construct

While it might turn your stomach to think about eating insects today, this response of disgust isn’t typical in every culture. Across the planet, billions of people eat insects each day, and foods you might not think twice about (like beef) are considered taboo in other places. This means that your aversion to insects on your plate isn’t rooted in biology, and you can overcome your negative first response by maintaining an open mind. As an example, raw fish was once considered repugnant in America, but sushi made it popular. If you’re still working on your mental blocks, keep in mind that crickets are closely related to shrimp.

9. Naturally Mild Flavor

While it’s common to think that insects must have a strong flavor profile, in truth their flavor is considered mild. Like tofu, most insects will take on the characteristics of what they’re cooked with, and fried insects are known for tasting like salted sunflower seeds. This makes it easy to pop a handful of grasshoppers into your trail mix or mix cricket flour into your pancake recipes.

10. Processed Foods Already Contain Insects

If you think you’ve avoided eating insects until this point, it’s time to take a closer look at your pantry. Almost all processed foods contain insect parts. 100 grams of chocolate contains on average of over 60 insect fragments, and the same amount of broccoli might have upwards of 60 aphids. Over the course of a year, many experts estimate you eat one or two pounds of insect parts with your food. The FDA doesn’t have a problem with these levels, which is further proof that eating insects isn’t such a strange idea.

How To Get Started With Edible Insects

If you’re convinced to give insects a try culinarily, where should you start?

There are over 2,000 known edible bugs in the world, so feel free to try several varieties until you learn what your personal taste preference is.

Many insect aficionados advocate for sourcing the freshest bugs you can. Fresh honeybee larva is considered to be a creamy treat, so consider asking your local beekeeper if they can set you up with a supply.

Depending on where you live, a local market might prove to have a quality supply of insects for consumption. Hispanic and Asian markets tend to have the best selection, so shop around.

Amazon is always a good option for purchasing edible insects. They offer a wide variety of options, from crickets, to worms to tarantulas.


Eating wise, some people prefer to substitute insects for salty snacks like chips or nuts, while others prefer to incorporate them into regular meals for an extra boost of protein. You can add mealworms to your veggie stir-fry, or bake bread with cricket-infused flour. To keep things simple, consider trying a protein bar infused with insect powder.

So long as you’re open to experimentation, you’re likely to find a combination that suits you. And once you become a fan of feasting on bugs – spread the word to your friends or add a bowl of edible crickets to your next gathering! We can all do our part to live lighter on the environment. 

The post 10 Reasons To Introduce Edible Insects Into Your Diet appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

There’s nothing better than fresh-baked bread, but a standard oven is a boring strategy for making yours at home.

With just a weekend of work, you can build an earth oven for baking homemade bread, pizzas, pies and more, right in your backyard.

What Is An Earth Oven?

Never heard of an earth oven? You might know it by a different name: clay oven, cob oven, adobe oven, Roman oven, Quebec oven, or El Horno. Regardless of the terminology, an earth oven is a structure built from a combination of clay and straw that, when heated with fire, retains scorching hot temperatures for several hours so that you can bake bread quickly and evenly with little risk of burning it.

Since they get hotter than standard convection ovens, earth ovens can caramelize crusts and give them a chewier texture.

7 Benefits Of Baking With An Earth Oven

Why go through the effort of cooking with an earth oven when the one in your kitchen is more convenient? Below are some of the advantages of bringing your breadmaking outdoors.

1. Better For The Environment: Earth ovens are made from all-natural components, meaning that you can simply disassemble them when you’re done without creating any trash.

Likewise, the ovens are heated with wood, not a nonrenewable fossil fuel.

2. Provide Opportunities For Artistic Expression: The basic building technique for an earth oven can be modified any way you prefer, and you can personalize the appearance any way you prefer.

Consider building a backyard dragon, a troll, or merely making a beautiful design. You can also modify your plans to create a warming bench that takes advantage of the oven’s ambient heat.

3. Cheap To Build: The clay used to build earth ovens is cheap and abundant in the natural world, making it easy to gather your own before beginning.

4. Bakes Better Crusts: The conductive heat of an earth oven produces even cooking conditions that lead to thick, chewy crusts without tough spots.

5. Perfect For Social Gatherings: There’s no better way to make a cookout stand out than centering it around a backyard earth oven.

Let everyone design and bake a personal pizza, or bake sourdough bread for serving homemade sandwiches. The choice is yours!

6. Simple To Construct: Earth ovens are simple to construct even if you don’t have building experience, and they are very forgiving of imperfections.

7. Off-Grid Cooking: If you live in a place without consistent electricity, an earth oven might be the perfect option for baking.

Read Next: 21 Tips For Quitting Your Job, Going Off Grid and Living The Dream

Ten Steps For Building Your Own Earth Oven

Sold on the idea of getting fresh-baked bread from your backyard?

Then it’s time to start planning how to build an earth oven. The steps for constructing your own are as follows.

For more detailed instructions, Build Your Own Earth Oven is an excellent resource.

1. Choose A Location

Earth ovens are bulky and difficult to transport, meaning that it’s best to build your oven where you want it to stay permanently.

When choosing your location, keep in mind that you might need to make multiple trips to and from your kitchen when using it.

2. Collect Your Clay

The classic material for building an earth oven is clay subsoil. Some of the best places to find free clay include construction sites, the side of the road, or river banks.

You can recognize it by taking a pinch of dirt, spitting on it, and blending it between your fingers. If it feels sticky and greasy and you can roll it into thin snakes, you have clay.

If natural sources are too hard to track down in your region, you can also get clay by the bag from a masonry supplies store or buy it online.

3. Build The Foundation

Once you choose your location, chalk out the perimeter of your oven’s base and put down a layer of concrete blocks.

Plan on needing several dozen to create the right sized base.

The most straightforward strategy is to place the floor bricks in 10-15cm around the perimeter so that they form an even platform, minimizing any cracks or gaps in the process.

You won’t need any mortar, as the weight of the oven’s walls will keep them in place.

The goal is to create the foundation to a height that you’re comfortable learning down to, so once you achieve that you can fill the interior with an insulating material.

One option is to fill the space with empty glass bottles and then to fill the gaps with perlite before covering the top with sand.

Be sure to pack everything tightly together, as you don’t want the oven’s heat to be sucked from the bottom when you’re trying to cook.

Once you have a flat surface, lay firebricks on top. Your food will cook directly on top of them, so place the bricks tightly without any gaps.

Patience is key here, so use a level to keep things even.

4. Mix Clay Into Cob

The different levels of your oven require different consistencies of clay.

Plain clay won’t work for an earth oven because it will crack over time and let too much heat escape. This means that you will need to blend the clay with base materials to provide strength and reduce the risk of shrinkage.

A standard mix for the first layer is about one-part clay subsoil to two parts sand. You can test your mixture by forming bricks and letting them dry.

They should be dense and hard, with little evidence of cracks.

To mix up enough for constructing an oven, spread out a tarp and combine your cob components on top with enough water to keep things moistened and sticky.

You can stomp the mixture into mud with your feet or blend it by hand until it is well mixed and has the consistency of a piecrust.

Once you can pack the clay into a hard ball and drop it from chest height without it falling apart, you’ve made it the right consistency.

5. Form The Oven Interior

To construct a hollow oven, you first need to build the negative space inside it. The best way to do this is to mix sand with water so that it sticks together and you can form it into a stable mound.

Make sure this mound stops at least six inches before the edge of the firebricks, so you have space to build thick walls.

6. Build The Walls

Next, start layering your cob mixture on the sand base to form your walls.

The first layer should be about three inches thick. Start from the bottom and work upwards, ensuring you make the walls the same thickness throughout.

Be sure to cover the whole mound, even where you plan to put a door.

Let this layer set overnight, and then add a second layer that’s mixed hay or straw to add thickness. This layer should be at least three inches thick, and it should be flush with the first layer so that there aren’t gaps.

The depth of your oven is a personal choice. Thicker ovens hold heat longer, but they also require more fuel.

7. Form A Door

Generally, earth oven openings should be about two thirds the final height and about 30-50% of the inner diameter.

Scratch a line in the cob for where the door will be and cut a fist-sized hole to get your hand in and dig out the material until you can touch the underside of the thermal layer.

If it’s firm and doesn’t dent, you can expand the entrance to full size without compromising its structural integrity.

8. Coat With A Finishing Layer

At this point, your oven might look slightly rough on the exterior.

You can add a smooth clay layer to give it a polished look, and those feeling extra creative can form their oven into any shape or expand it into a bench or larger building.

One way to achieve a smooth texture is to rub the exterior with a polished rock, metal spoon, or piece of milled lumber.

9. Protect Your Oven

Since earth ovens are made from natural materials, too much water exposure will cause them to disintegrate. Most people solve this problem by building a basic roof to shelter their oven. Keeping it dry will also help it heat up faster, saving you fuel over time.

Note: Never “waterproof” your oven by painting it or covering it in cement. Earth ovens need to exhale steam as they heat up, and trapping water within the structure can wreck it quickly.

10. Drying The Oven

Once finished, your oven will need to dry out for several weeks before you can build a fire in it.

As it dries, slowly dig out the interior sand to allow air inside aid the drying.

During this time, you can build a wooden door that forms a tight fit on the oven’s entrance.

Small cracks might form during this process, and that isn’t a problem so long as they aren’t structural.

How To Use An Earth Oven

Once your oven is thoroughly dried, it’s time for the fun part- using it!

Learning to bake with an earth oven is a skill that takes some practice. You have less control over the process than with a regular oven, so plan on it taking a few tries to get things perfect.

You’ll want to have a supply of wood on hand before you start. Stick to small pieces that can burn hot and fast- no piece should be thicker than your wrist.

Scrap lumber is an option so long as it hasn’t been treated.

Heating The Earth Oven

To start, soak the baking door in a bucket of water for several hours. The more saturated it is with water, the lower the risk of it catching fire.

Soaking also allows it to produce steam during the baking process, which keeps your bread moist.

As the door soaks, build a fire on the oven floor.

It’s best to burn several small loads of wood in rapid succession to reach the desired baking temperature. You can estimate the internal oven temperature by pressing your hand on the outside.

The goal is to make it hot but not unbearable after about two seconds on contact. If the oven has been used before, you can also gauge when it’s ready by when it burns the black soot off the exterior.

Plan on the heating process taking between one and three hours, depending on the size of your oven.

The hotter the better for pizza, so don’t be afraid to keep the fire going for longer than you think is necessary.

Once the oven reaches temperature, pull out the coals into a metal ash bucket, ensuring that embers aren’t trapped on the edges. The oven will be too hot to leave your hands in for long, so use oven mitts.

You can use a fireplace brush to remove the remaining ashes from the cooking space.

Next, you need to “soak” your oven in heat to even out the internal temperatures for better baking.

Accomplish this by covering the opening with a metal cookie sheet (not the oven door) and letting the oven set for 15 to 30 minutes. You can gauge the temperature as you go by holding your hand inside.

If you can last eight seconds, it’s ready for bread. Any hotter, and it’s best to bake pizza or wait for things too cool down.

Baking With An Earth Oven

To bake, load your loaves into the oven on a narrow wooden paddle known as a peel. Sprinkle cornmeal on the peel first for easy transfer to the oven floor.

Once loaded, block the opening immediately with the baking door.

Check your bread every few minutes while it’s baking to ensure it doesn’t burn. The process is less scientific and more intuitive, so practice makes perfect for gauging the timing.

Once the crust is brown and textured, pull it out of the oven.

As your oven will retain heat for several hours, you can cook multiple loaves and switch to lower temperature foods as it cools down. A typical order is a to bake pizza, then bread, casserole, and cookies or brownies.

Baking homemade bread in your backyard is an exquisite experience, especially if you take the time to learn how to make an earth oven.

Take the time and effort to construct one today, and you will reap the rewards for years to come.

Read Next: Top 42 Kitchen Tools You Need To Improve Your Self-Sufficiency

The post How To Make & Bake With An Earth Oven appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

Are you trying to improve your self-sufficiency by adopting a homesteading lifestyle? Change should begin in your kitchen. There are hundreds of ways to get closer to the earth through the ways you prepare your food, and the right tools will make the process simple.

Top 42 Homesteading Kitchen Tools

No matter whether your knife skills rival a gourmet chef or you’re a just a beginner at the art of baking, these kitchen tools will help you improve your self-sufficiency while preparing hearty, nutritious meals for your family.

1. Bread Machine

Your vision of a true homesteader might be a housewife who spends hours kneading bread each day, but it’s possible to get the full taste advantages of homemade loaves by turning to a bread machine instead. This brilliant machine lets you add ingredients to the top, press a button, and pull out a fresh-baked loaf an hour or two later. You can use bread makers to blend up everything from cinnamon roll dough, pizza crust, and even jams. This will save you time and money, and you will feed your family a healthier product in the process.

2. Vitamix Blender

Every well-equipped kitchen needs a quality blender, but most of us are used to replacing ours every few years. Not so with the Vitamix. This rugged blender is designed to last a lifetime, and it can be used to blend everything from smoothies to pesto sauce, baby food, bread dough, and even nut butter. Best of all, the blender can self-clean in 60 seconds if you add dish soap and blend.

3. Dehydrator

If your fruit trees are exploding on your homestead, one of the most economical ways to preserve the harvest is through a food dehydrator. Dried fruits last longer than canned, and they make an excellent snack because they retain their nutritional quality without requiring any added sugars or other preservation agents. With your own dehydrator, you can make fruit leather, crispy nuts and seeds, beef jerky, fruit and veggie chips, dried herbs, and more.

4. Pressure Canner

For those who want to preserve as much of their garden bounty as possible, a pressure canner is an indispensable pantry tool. Unlike water bath canners that can only process high-acid fruits, pressure canners let you preserve everything from fruit, vegetables, soups, and even meat. In fact, it is the only method considered safe by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for canning low-acid foods. Buy a quality canner the first time around, and your tool should last for decades.

5. Large Stock Pot

If you’re planning to butcher your own animals, make meals in bulk, or process fruit into batches of jelly, a large stock pot is a fundamental kitchen tool. Large stock pots can also double as water bath canners, meaning that you’ll be pulling one out regularly for all your cooking projects.

6. Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Cast iron has long been a staple for self-sufficient living, and a quality Dutch oven is no exception. You can use this tool to cook casseroles, bake bread, or perform almost any other cooking task, which is why it is considered a preferred cooking tool for professional chefs. Its ability to retain heat makes cast iron excellent for searing meat or slow cooking your favorite dishes. Best of all, this is a kitchen investment that will most likely outlive you in usefulness.

7. Grain Mill

For those who haven’t tasted bread baked from freshly-ground flour, you’re missing out on a treat. Grain mills make it possible to buy bulk goods like wheat, barley, oats, spices, peppercorn and more (even coffee) in bulk, and only grind what you need for each recipe, ensuring that the grains stay as fresh as possible. This saves you money and prevents you from throwing away rancid flour you couldn’t get to in time. Electric and manual crank grain mills are both available, so you can decide how “hands-on” you want to be.

8. Kitchen Aid Mixer

Do you have a passion for homestyle baking? Then life will get much easier once you add a Kitchen Aid mixer to your kitchen. Considered the gold standard for blenders, the Kitchen Aid brand is designed to last for life, and you can buy numerous attachments to improve its functionality, including a dough hook, pasta maker and more.

9. Pasta Maker

Add an extra layer of self-sufficiency to your homestead kitchen by using a pasta maker. Once you taste the chewy, flavor-filled difference that fresh pasta makes, you won’t want to go back to store bought. Homemade pasta tends to cook more evenly and absorb more sauce than commercial, letting you appreciate the full flavors of your dishes. The process is easier than you think with the right tools, meaning that you can put dinner on the table without much effort.

10. Ice Cream Maker

If you’re struggling to put farm-fresh milk to use, it’s hard to beat hand-churned ice cream. A homemade ice cream maker is simple to use; just add your ingredients and get churning. You can customize each flavor with homegrown ingredients, making each pint the perfect way to celebrate your seasonal bounty.

11. Bean Cutter

Growing green beans is easy. Processing them? Not so much. A bean cutter makes it possible to transform fresh beans into slender slivers that are easy to cook or can, and contain a more delicate flavor profile. If you need to process bushels at a time, this tool shouldn’t be excluded from your kitchen.

12. Apple Peeler

Apple season is a highlight for homesteaders, but coring and preserving the bounty is hard work without a designated apple peeler. This tool will peel, core, and slice an apple in a matter of seconds, making it easy to transform slices into a crisp, sauce, or a dried snack. Most peelers offer some versatility in sizing, meaning that you can also use it to peel potatoes and other veggies.

13. Apple Sauce Mill/Tomato Mill

Producing silky smooth applesauce or tomato paste is almost impossible without a food mill. This multi-functional tool is perfect for preparing purees, soups, jellies, and sauces from hot food to make it silky smooth – no tomato seeds left intact.

14. Coffee Grinder

If coffee part of your morning routine, it’s extra satisfying to take the brew into your own hands (literally) by using a manual coffee grinder. Grinding coffee beans releases their aromatic oils, which enhances their flavor profile. Burr-style grinders come with powerful blades to grind your beans to the perfect consistency for whatever your brew is, ensuring that you get a fresh-tasting cup every time.

15. Butter Churn

Few things feel more “back to the land” than munching on homemade bread slathered with fresh-churned butter. Far from being backbreaking, it’s easy to make homemade butter with a modern butter churn. These tools are designed to help you create homemade butter in minutes, so long as you have a fresh cream supply on hand. Delicious!

16. Cheese Cloth

Whether you’re interested in making homemade cheese or prefer to tackle other homesteading projects, cheesecloth is a versatile tool to keep in your kitchen. You can use it for straining curds, making soap, and even canning tomatoes and most cloths can be used multiple times. Strive to buy unbleached cotton cloth when possible so that you don’t expose your food to potential contaminants.

17. Solar Oven

Are you looking for a way to get out of the kitchen on a hot summer day? A solar oven might be the perfect option. These high-powered appliances harness the power of the sun to bake bread, brown meat, or even cook casseroles and root veggies. Depending on the weather, you can have dinner on the table in almost the same amount of time it takes to cook in a conventional oven, and you’ll reduce your home’s carbon footprint in the process.

18. Hand Crank Mixer

Many people choose to live a homesteading lifestyle to get away from the whir of motors. If this sounds like you, a hand crank mixer might be perfect for your kitchen. Give your arm a gentle workout while chopping veggies, pulverizing nuts, or even kneading bread dough more efficiently than you could without it. You’ll feel more connected to your food without wasting time.

19. Kitchen Scale

Some recipes call for exact measurements that mean your measuring cups won’t stack up. In these instances, a kitchen scale is an ideal alternative. This tool is perfect for precise food preservation recipes or soap making, and they’ll make it easier to replicate your results regularly.

20. Popcorn Popper

Few things are cozier than settling in with a bowl of popcorn next to the woods stove, and you can make your own at home with a stovetop popcorn popper. Simple to clean and proven to protect your kernels from burning, using a home popper will make family time feel more special.

21. Stovetop Waffle Iron

Homemade waffles are an exceptional treat, but most conventional waffle makers take up too much space and suck up electricity. Cut down on your carbon footprint by cooking with a cast iron waffle maker instead. This lets you cook waffles right on the stovetop, and the pan’s slim profile makes it easy to store away once you’re done using it.

22. Meat Grinder

Homemade sausage is a special treat for many homesteaders, but you’ll struggle to make your own without a quality meat grinder. This homesteading kitchen tool is essential for anyone that raises livestock or wants to make their own sausage, burgers, or meatballs. Most grinders can also be used to grind dry substances like grains or coffee beans as well.

23. Mortar & Pestle

Are you looking to transform your fresh ingredients into potent dips or sauces? Then a mortar and pestle should be considered a homesteading kitchen staple. Using a mortar and pestle lets you customize the grind size of your spices and rubs, allowing you to take control of the culinary process and express flavor profiles that matter to you. Most mortar and pestles are designed to last for life, so once you buy one you are set for the long term.

24. Juice Press

As much as you might love fresh juice in the mornings, maintaining the habit gets expensive if you’re buying it premade at the grocery store. A better option is to juice your own fruit with a compact, commercial-grade juicer. This makes it possible to pull out all the juice from your favorite fruits without mixing in the pulp.

25. Steel Tea Ball

It’s common knowledge that loose leaf tea can be great for your health, and a steel tea ball makes it easy to brew your own. Whether you’re drying herbs on the homestead for your perfect tea combination or looking for ways to infuse herbs in tea or wine, these balls let you keep the herbs in place and remove them once the infusion is finished.

26. Mandolin Spiral Slicer

Most homesteaders know the panic of producing too much zucchini, and a mandolin spiral slicer will help you get the harvest back under control. This multi-purpose tool lets you cut veggies into spirals of different sizes and incorporate them into a variety of dishes – including as a gluten-free pasta substitute.

27. Immersion Blender

The best way to turn your soups and sauces silky smooth is to blend them directly in the pot with an immersion blender. Most also come with a whisk attachment, making it possible to use it to create everything from heavy whipping cream to mayonnaise.

28. Salad Spinner

For those who grow fresh greens, getting them on the table quickly can often pose a challenge. A salad spinner makes it simple to dry lettuce leaves so that they aren’t dripping wet when you put your salad together, reducing the need for wasteful paper towels to do the same job.

29. Quality Knife Set

If you only invest in one homesteading kitchen tool, a set of quality knives is the way to go. Extra sharp knives make processing ingredients less time-consuming, which gives you more options for exploring new hobbies. While a knife set is the easiest way to secure quality knives, you can also buy them individually as finances allow.

30. Food Hugger

One real problem with producing much of your own food is that it often goes bad before you can get to it. The food hugger makes preserving meals and ingredients easy (and environmentally sustainable) by allowing you to cover food to keep it fresh without resorting to plastic. This makes it easier to prevent raw ingredients from spoiling so you can get back to them on your time.

31. Crock Pot

Life is busy enough without stressing about meals; sometimes you just want to make dinner in the morning and let it cook itself without you giving it attention. A crock pot makes it possible to do just that. Toss in your ingredients, turn it on, and let the power of simmering cook everything for you. Crock pots are an essential homesteading kitchen tool that can make it almost effortless for you to make soups, casseroles, beans, roasts and more.

32. Herb Keeper

Keep your fragile greens vibrant and fresh with an herb keeper– a tool that helps them stay fresh for up to four times as long. A small compartment at the bottom of the keeper lets you add water, ensuring that your favorite flavoring agents stay hydrated and healthy for days longer than they would otherwise.

33. Yogurt Maker

If you have access to fresh milk, a yogurt maker is one homesteading kitchen tool to add to your wish list. These devices make it possible to blend yogurt ingredients, turn on the machine, and let it do the hard work for you. Most yogurt makers allow you to adjust to the fermentation time, ensuring that you can choose precisely how tart the final product will be, and even accommodate non-dairy milk as well.

34. Meat Thermometer

If you want your home-raised meat to be well done, it’s essential to use a meat thermometer to test when the cooking process is complete. Even if you rarely eat meat, a high-quality meat thermometer works well to gauge the temperature of anything you’re making that’s heat sensitive, including yogurt, beer and more.

35. The Instant Pot

This trendy appliance deserves every accolade, as owning an Instant Pot lets you replace numerous other kitchen contraptions, including your crock pot, rice cooker, and more. Instant Pots make it possible to cook soups, stews, beans, bone broth, and so much more in the fraction of the time it traditionally takes, and they are designed to be safe, error-free, and low maintenance. Once you add one to your kitchen, you might be surprised how many uses you find for it.

36. Single Burner for Canning

All kitchen enthusiasts know how valuable burners can be when you’re juggling multiple projects, and hefty canners often take up too much real estate. You can expand your operation with a single burner, which makes it easier to can wherever is convenient for you- even outdoors if the weather permits it.

37. Vacuum Sealer

For the most efficient way to preserve the lifespan of your food, consider vacuum sealing each package to keep it fresh. A vacuum sealer allows you to pull the air out of your food so that it doesn’t spoil in the fridge for weeks. This helps you cut down on food waste, a significant contributor to greenhouse gases.

38. Fermentation Kit

If you’re interested in improving your probiotic intake, a fermentation kit will make it easier to turn your fresh produce into delicious kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles and more. Designed to allow for the proper transfer of carbon dioxide and oxygen through one-way breathable valves, a fermentation kit takes the guesswork out of fermentation so that you can enjoy your pickles faster.

39. Hardy, Wooden Chopping Boards

A disproportionate amount of time in the kitchen is spent prepping ingredients, so it pays to invest in quality cutting boards. Wood is the way to go, as plastic cutting boards tend to retain more bacteria than all-natural ones. It’s best to think twice about using bamboo boards as well, as their extra hard surfaces can damage knives over time.

40. Knife Sharpener

Once you’ve invested in a quality knife, keeping it in good shape should be a top priority. A knife sharpener helps you keep each blade in optimal condition, ensuring that your prep work passes by as efficiently as possible. A quality knife sharpener can be used for pocket knives and serrated blades as well.

41. Canning Jars

Canning jars are a staple component of the homesteading kitchen, even if you don’t want to preserve food. These glass jars are perfect storage containers because they won’t leach toxins into your food, and they make it easy to see what’s stored inside. Keep a supply on hand, and you’ll be amazed at how many uses you find for them.

42. Freeze Dryer

If you’re looking to preserve food so that it withstands any threat, then it’s best to invest in a home freeze dryer. Freeze drying will pull the water content from your meals so that it can last for decades without deteriorating and while still retaining its original taste, texture, and nutritional quality. It’s an impressive achievement that ensures you can stockpile food to prepare in the event of an emergency.

Regardless of where you are on your journey to self-sufficiency, these homesteading kitchen tools can help you improve. Add some to your wishlist, and you might soon pick up a new skill.

The post Top 42 Kitchen Tools You Need To Improve Your Self-Sufficiency appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

Who doesn’t dream of ditching the cubicle for the fresh air of farm fields? It’s a common desire to leave the rat race behind and cultivate a closer connection with the land, but for most of us, the idea never gets off the ground.

But here’s the reality; the barriers to entry towards starting your own small farm business aren’t as extreme as you might think. It’s entirely possible to move your life towards a more agrarian aesthetic without blowing out your bank account or losing every weekend to backbreaking work. If you’re interested in learning whether a small farm could be in your future, then this article is for you.

The Rise of the Small Farm Business

While the news about the state of sustainable agriculture can often sound bleak, there’s good reason to consider starting your own small farm business. Contrary to the belief that most farms belong to mega-corporations, over 97% of farms in America are still family owned. An estimated two million small farms (ones that make less than $350,000 each year) are located across America today, and globally, they form the backbone of the entire agricultural system.

Is it time for you to join the movement? Starting a farm business can come with significant sacrifices, including a loss of things like a steady income, your employee retirement account, and health insurance. Even so, millions believe that the costs are well worth it for the power to control their days, work outdoors on passion projects, and manage a small business that makes them feel like they’re making a positive difference in the world.

10 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Starting A Small Farm Business

Not everyone has what it takes to start a small farm business. Answer these questions honestly, and if you find yourself saying no, you might want to reconsider if your vision of farm life is more romantic than reality.

• Are you comfortable working outside in any weather condition?
• Do you like tinkering with tools and engines?
• Are you self-motivated?
• Are you able to identify what needs to be done and prioritize based on importance?
• Can you make plans for the future while remaining comfortable with in-the-moment changes?
• Are you able to move forward from failure effectively?
• Can you handle hours of mundane, physical work?
• Are you a generalist who is skilled in a variety of fields?
• Are you willing to be a lifelong learner?
• Do you have a passion for caring for plants and animals? (the most critical component)

If you are still willing to consider pursuing a small-scale farm, the following tips will get you started.

7 Steps for Starting a Small Farm

There’s no point shying from the truth; starting a farm in any form is an arduous undertaking. The following tips provide a guideline for how to start a small farm business.

1. Gain Real-world Farm Experience

One of the best ways to learn whether you’re cut out for farming is to gain real-life experience. Before diving into your own venture, consider volunteering on an established farm through a program like WWOOF or Workaway. The more firsthand experience you gain the better, so consider investing the time to volunteer on several farms if possible. This will give you a better perspective of what a farm business entails and will expose you to multiple methods for making one succeed.

In the beginning stages, it’s also smart to make a connection with a farming mentor who can walk you through the complications of establishing a business. You can connect with someone in your community or reach out to the local USDA office for potential options for a more formal apprenticeship.

Find a USDA center near you with this link.

2. Decide Whether You Want a Hobby Farm or Farm Business

As the conversations begin about your future farm life, it’s vital that you define whether you’re looking for a hobby farm experience or want to establish a business. Maintaining a hobby farm gives you the opportunity to live a farming lifestyle without being financially dependent on it. Hobby farmers often work off-farm jobs or have enough savings to support their lifestyle. Sometimes the property is profitable enough to cover its expenses, but not always. Farm businesses, in contrast, make it a priority to be profitable.

No matter which direction you go, it’s crucial that you’re clear about your expectations from the beginning, as a hobby farm is managed much differently than a business. That being said, it’s okay (even recommended) to start small when you’re first beginning. Raise a homestead-scale garden for a few years before branching into market production, and test the waters to see what you both like and excel at before investing in an enterprise for profit.

3. Define Your Goals & Objectives

Every farm business looks different, which is why you need to be as transparent as possible about what your goals are from the onset. It’s important to clarify what your profit goals are and what the “minimum viable return” from your enterprise should be. This gives you a clear blueprint for how much time and money you are willing to invest in your business before backing out.

This planning stage also gives you the chance to define your non-monetary goals for your business. Are you primarily looking for a lifestyle that lets you connect more closely with your family? Do you want to make a positive impact on your community and the planet? Visualizing what an optimal small farm business would look like for you makes it easier to identify when you’re going off track.

4. Make a Business Plan

A small farm might feel like a passion project, but if you want it to be a business you need to treat it like one. This means that you need to establish a business plan with hard numbers and budget requirements so that you have a roadmap for getting started. At this stage, you can also articulate details like how many hours you want to work a week, whether you want any employees, how you plan to measure customer satisfaction, and other pertinent information.

This step might seem overwhelming, so follow the advice from the USDA for setting up a farm business plan.

5. Seek Out Funding Options

One of the most significant barriers for would-be small-scale farmers is securing the capital to get their idea off the ground. New businesses rarely make money their first few years, and farm enterprise is no exception. For this reason, it’s critical to have a survival plan in place to act as a financial buffer to help you navigate the instability. Some small-scale farmers maintain outside jobs, while others don’t start their businesses until they have sufficient savings or have a plan to take on as little debt as possible.

It can be challenging to secure standard business loans for establishing a farm, but there are several unconventional options for finding financial help instead. Crowdfunding can be an option if you have a strong business plan in place, and the newly-established company Steward promises to help small-scale farmers raise capital through “crowdfarming.”  It’s also possible to finance projects through grants, both through the USDA and non-governmental organizations. Some resources for starting your search include the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture Program, and the Conservation Loan Program.

6. Determine How You Will Reach Your Customers

The best product on the planet has no value if you can’t reach the customers that care about it. Most farms utilize multiple market venues to get their products in the right hands, including:

• farmers markets
• roadside farm stands
• on-farm sales
• community supported agriculture (CSA)
• restaurant delivery
• selling to retailers
• selling to wholesale distributors

It’s smart to perform some research before committing to a distribution strategy, so pay attention to how farms near you sell their products and where your key customer tends to hang out.

7. Start Marketing Before You Start Farming

Waiting until you have a product to sell is too late to begin marketing your farm. Instead, it’s a smart idea to create a website (or at least a Facebook page) for several months or even a year before you go into business. This will help you build brand recognition and cultivate a following of people who will be enthusiastic to buy from you as soon as your product is ready.

Not sure how to deal with online promotion? The Small Farm Academy is a smart place to start.

6 Farm-Based Business Ideas for Getting Started

Your small farm venture will survive or perish depending on what you decide to sell. If you’re filled with motivation but short on ideas, these slightly unconventional suggestions should serve as inspiration.

1. Grow Microgreens

Growing vegetables to maturity can be overrated; why not sell them at the seedling stage instead? For those located close to their target market and with minimal growing space, few farm businesses are more profitable than selling microgreens. These young plants can be cultivated from a variety of seed mixes, though popular varieties include spicy lettuces, beets, broccoli, arugula, and kale. It’s common to harvest microgreens at an inch or two in height, and then mix them into salads for a high-end garnish that packs a flavor punch. All you need for production are standard plastic nursery trays and greenhouse or indoor space for growing.

As microgreens typically reach maturity ten days after planting and last less than a week after harvesting, this is a business venture that makes the most sense if you can sell directly to the consumer (high-end restaurants tend to be ideal).

2. Support the Craft Alcohol Industry

Small-scale beer and wine production is booming in popularity, and many breweries and wineries are desperate for local-grown grapes and hops. Consider turning an acre or two of your property into production, and you’ll have a lucrative crop to sell to the highest bidder. Establishing the systems for these crops is an investment in time and finances, but the result can be profitable for a small farm business. Just make sure you complete plenty of research before beginning, as vineyards and hops require unique cultivation strategies to be successful.

3. Produce and Sell Worm Compost

Sometimes the best farming strategy is to provide resources other farmers want. Many urban farmers are willing to pay a premium for quality compost, and worm castings are some of the best available. You can set up a largescale vermiculture system if you have a steady supply of food scraps to take advantage of. Consider asking local farmers or even grocery stores to donate their waste produce to you, and you’ll have a convenient food supply for your worm population.

4. Raise Meat Rabbits

Many small-scale farmers have a flock of chickens, but far fewer raise meat rabbits. That provides a perfect niche opportunity for the adventurous farmer, as meat rabbits are an incredible source of protein that’s surprisingly easy to raise and process. Considering how little space they need, you can quickly scale up your meat rabbit production to provide a sizable income for your small farm.

5. Sell Cut Flowers

If you’re looking to get into crop production but want to stand out at the farmers’ market, then it’s worth considering a cut flowers business. Some growers produce as much as $50,000 in sales per acre, proving that it can be a potentially lucrative business venture. You can expand your services further by tapping into the wedding market by providing flowers for venue decorating.

6. Raise Valuable Bugs

Strange as it might seem, you can start a profitable farm venture from raising insects. Pet stores, organic gardeners, and vermiculture enthusiasts are often willing to buy bugs, and you need very little space to make it happen. Some stellar options to consider include nightcrawlers, black soldier fly larva, crickets, ladybugs, and red wigglers.

Read Next: 25 Easy Ways To Make Passive Income From Your Homestead

The post How To Start A Small Farm Business – It’s Not As Difficult As You Think appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.

There’s a lot to worry about if you ever find yourself in a true survival situation, but a primary concern should be your water supply. Whether you’re lost in the wilderness or living through a natural disaster that caused the grid to go down, your situation will quickly deteriorate if you don’t deal with your hydration concerns with a water purification strategy.

While the world is full of fresh water that’s safe for drinking, you’ll run into trouble if you can’t source it or purify it when you most need it. The human body can go for a month or more without food, but your system will start to shut down after a few days without water. Thankfully, there are dozens of water purification strategies to know in survival situations that could save your life if you know how to put them into action.

The first step? Finding a reliable source of water that you can purify.

5 Tips for Finding Water in a Survival Situation

The world’s best water filtration tips are worthless if you don’t have a way to secure water. Depending on your situation, you might easily find water in streams, ponds, or lakes, or it might be entirely out of sight. However, for those who know where to look, a reliable water supply can be found in some unexpected places. For instance, you can:

1. Distill Ocean Water

So long as you have a portable distillation system, you can turn any supply of salty, brackish water drinkable. This filters out the salt and other contaminants, leaving you with pure water instead.

2. Tap Trees

Maple and birch trees can be tapped with a tapping kit in the late winter to release a slightly-sweet sap. While this liquid is traditionally boiled down into maple syrup, you can also drink it as an emergency water supply.

3. Make a Solar Still

It’s possible to harvest dew for drinking with a homemade solar still. What you need is a clear plastic sheet and a cup for collecting water. Dig a hole that’s approximately three feet across and one foot deep and place a container in the center. Consider adding plants inside the hole to increase the water production. Then, stretch the plastic over the opening and secure the edges with rocks or other heavy objects. Place one stone in the center of the plastic over the part where the cup is, and let the sun’s heat cause the water to condense on the plastic and drip into the container. After several hours, you should have collected enough water to drink. Best of all, the clear plastic is a versatile survival tool that can be used for shelter and rain protection as well.

4. Hack a Hot Water Tank

If you’re trapped in a non-wilderness water emergency, your hot water tank can become a reliable source of fresh water. The key is to know how to shut off any incoming water to avoid contaminated water from mixing in. This guide will teach you how.

5. Open a Fire Hydrant

It’s possible to pull fresh water from a fire hydrant, but only in an actual emergency. A fire hydrant wrench can help you access the water inside your neighborhood hydrant.

Some water sources should not be tapped unless you absolutely have no choice. For example, when it comes to your toilet, you need to worry less about fecal matter contamination than toxic cleaning agents that are both dangerous and difficult to filter out. Drinking toilet water should consequently be a last resort. Radiators, water beds, and water in chemically treated pools or hot tubs full under the same category because of the chemicals within them. It’s also smart to be cautious with well water after an emergency like an earthquake, as the shifting ground means that the supply might become contaminated.

8 Ways To Purify Water in an Emergency Situation

Once you’ve secured a water supply, your primary objective should be to treat it. Purifying water frees it of microbial contaminants and disease, which makes it safer for your digestive system to handle. There is no limit to the ways you can clean up your water supply, but eight smart strategies for treating water in emergency situations are below.

1. Use a Filter

Perhaps the easiest way to deal with dirty water is to filter out the impurities immediately after you collect it. Some of the filter options available include the following.

• • Pump-action filters use a pump system to force untreated water through a filter cartridge. This draws pathogens and other contaminants out, so you get instant fresh water. It’s good to look for one with a silver-embedded ceramic cartridge like the Katadyn Pocket filter so that the silver disables dangerous viruses as well.
  • Gravity water filters rely on the power of gravity to push water through a reservoir to a hose with hollow membranes that filter out contaminants so it’s safe to drink. They tend to be more durable than other filters with moving parts, but the filtration process itself can be slow. Systems like the Platypus GravityWorks make the process easy by providing separate reservoirs for dirty and purified water.
  • A new option for convenient water filtration is a survival straw like LifeStraw. This is a tool that filters water straight from an impure source just as fast as you can drink it. Designed to remove as much as 99.9% of dangerous microbes, these straws can provide you with up to 1,000 liters of fresh water before you need to replace it. For an ultra-convenient option, consider a water bottle with a built-in filter. This allows you to fill it with untreated water and sip out clean immediately.

2. Kill Pathogens with UV Light

UV light is a powerful way to kill microorganisms, making it an effective way to eliminate waterborne pathogens from your drinking supply. For the best portable option, it’s smart to look into using a water bottle with a built-in UV light filter from Mountop. If you want to treat water in a separate container, consider the SteriPen, a screwdriver-sized device designed to use UV light to kill off all contaminants in up to 15,000 liters before needing to be replaced.

3. Utilize SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection)

The sun’s rays are strong enough to kill water pathogens, so long as you know how to utilize them. Solar water disinfection (SODIS) is a broad term for filtration methods that rely on the sun. The simplest strategy is to put tainted water in clear plastic water bottles and let them sit out in the sun for at least a day. So long as the day stays sunny and hot, the sun’s UV rays will kill off the microbes within the water. While this method is cost-effective and straightforward, it’s not guaranteed to be effective, so it should only be practiced in case of emergencies if you don’t have another filtration option available. Likewise, the technique works best with smaller bottles, so stick with ones that are two liters or less.

4. Use a Bleach Treatment

Bleach earned its reputation as a potent cleaning product for a reason – it’s surprisingly effective at killing off microbes. You can add a dash of bleach to drinking water to make it safe to drink. But be careful only to use trace amounts; no more than four drops per quart for murky water and two drops for clear. Once added, shake your water container vigorously for up to a minute to ensure the compound has entirely dissipated within the water. Next, set the vessel in a dark place for at least half an hour. When you open the bottle again, it should smell vaguely of chlorine and be safe to drink.

5. Treat it with Iodine

Iodine is an effective way to disinfect water in a pinch, but be warned; this chemical can be harmful to your body at high concentrations. For this reason, it’s critically important that you only add a few drops at a time and to use only a tincture of iodine 2%. Plan to add five drops for a quart of clear water and ten for cloudy, and let the mixture sit in the shade for over thirty minutes before drinking it. As an added benefit, you can also use iodine to disinfect wounds in an emergency.

6. Try Disinfectant Tablets

Don’t want to measure out messy liquids? Water filtration can be as simple as adding disinfection tablets to your water. Using portable Aqua iodine tablets is a simple disinfectant strategy that renders water ready to drink within 35 minutes, but be warned that the pills only last a year before expiring. Some people also find that they taint the taste of the water in unpleasant ways. Another option is to use chlorine dioxide tablets, which react with water to disinfect it. After you add a tablet to a quart of water, it needs to sit for four hours to thoroughly treat it.

7. Boil the Water

Forget the high-tech equipment; one time-tested strategy for rendering water safe to drink is to boil it. While high heat conditions can’t evaporate all chemical pollutants contained within the water, five minutes of a rolling boil will kill the vast majority of dangerous pathogens, making it one of the safest ways to treat it. You can boil water over a campfire or a camp stove, and if you don’t have a heatproof container handy, you can heat rocks within a fire for half an hour before adding them to a water container to cook the bad microbes from the inside out. Just avoid using quartz, as it could explode in the heat.

8. Practice Portable Distillation

If you’re dealing with water that’s been so severely compromised by disaster conditions that it might destroy your water filter if you try to purify it, the only option might be to distill it. This removes lead, salts, heavy metals, and even radiation from the water, leaving you with a safer substance to drink. However, distillation is not 100% effective, as it won’t eliminate certain organic compounds or volatile oils. Distillation works by heating water into steam that is then captured and cooled back into cleaner water. You can keep a portable distiller on hand for emergency situations, or build one in a pinch with a pressure canner and small diameter copper tubing. Instructions for getting started are here.

When All Else Fails, Should You Drink Untreated Water?

If you’re out of options for purifying water, is it better to sip it straight from the source or go thirsty? Drinking raw water is a gamble no matter where it comes from, as even pristine-looking wilderness water can be host to dangerous bacteria. For this reason, you always need to weigh the risk before drinking it. If your health is more immediately compromised by going without, it’s a smart idea to drink up. After all, staying alive and sick to your stomach is always better than dying from dehydration.

A better option? Avoid this situation altogether by ensuring that you’re always prepared to purify your own water if the situation calls for it. The practice might just save your life.

Read Next: 21 Tips For Quitting Your Job, Going Off Grid & Living The Dream

The post 8 Ways To Purify Water For Drinking In Emergency Situations appeared first on Natural Living Ideas.