Pampered Chicken Mama: Raising Backyard Chickens

If you’re raising chickens with neighbors near you, or if you haven’t gotten a flock yet because you’re worried about ticking off your neighbors, then this podcast is for you.

I talk with Karen Thompson of Lil’ Suburban Homestead who is passionate about teaching people to grow food and raise chickens on a suburban homestead.

In particular, Karen and I talk about how she raises chickens with neighbors on either side of her North Carolina homestead.

You’ll learn:

Karen’s top tip for raising chickens with neighbors without becoming the plague of your community
Why giving your neighbors eggs isn’t always the best way to smooth the path to chicken ownership
How she keeps in touch with her community to promote chickens – that you can replicate
About her “old, old” hen that she tells her husband is still laying

Links we discuss:

Lil’ Suburban Homestead website

Lil’ Suburban Homestead Facebook page

Transcript:

Coming soon.

Hey y’all! Here’s this week’s sneaky peek photos of life on our farm!

These images also appear on my Instagram account where I share MANY more photos and stories from the farm!

If you aren’t yet following me there, you can right here.

Enjoy the photos & be sure to share some of yours with me!

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It’s summer time! One of the biggest struggles I have throughout the summer and even during the school year is finding healthy snacks for my kids.

It’s so easy to just give them a cookie or chips (because that’s what they want!) when they get home from school, but I’m trying really hard to help them develop healthy habits early on. So while some of these recipes aren’t perfectly healthy, I think they are a step in the right direction.

Here is my collection of my favorite healthy snacks for kids!

Chocolate Popsicles

Ok, ok, so this recipe isn’t healthy perse…but it tastes great AND you can make it using ingredients that you trust! I love making my own popsicles because I know exactly what ingredients are going to be in my food.

One great tip I have for healthy snacks is to disguise vegetables in other food. Growing up my sister would only eat macaroni and cheese and bread, so my mom had to get really creative to encourage her to eat vegetables. Kids often tend to avoid eating vegetables, so sneaking them into a yummy snack is a great way to get the the nutrients they need without them even knowing!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhYTjoYjr2J/?tagged=homemadechocolatepopsicles

I love this recipe for chocolate popsicles because it uses avocado, so you’re sneaking in some healthy food;) And if you’re dealing with a kid who won’t eat their veggies, you can blend up some spinach or kale and add it to this mixture. Trust me with the yummy chocolatey taste they won’t even know there are vegetables in there! I love that you can make this recipe with simple ingredients and a popsicle mold!

Apple Chips

Apple chips are a great healthy snack for kids! They get a crunchy snack that’s healthy and not full of added sugars! I love this recipe because it only takes 10 minutes of prep time. After you prep the apples you just stick them in the oven which makes this a super simple snack you can make for your kids!

If you aren’t into making apple chips, here’s my favorite store bought apple chips brand. I love that they’re organic and have simple ingredients.

Homemade Popsicles

Homemade popsicles are a huge hit around here, especially in the summer because it is unbearably hot right now! Two of my favorite recipes for homemade popsicles are berry popsicles and pineapple popsicles. You can check out the recipes for the berry popsicles here and the pineapple popsicles here. They’re so easy to make and they’re a yummy and healthy snack for your kiddos!

Watermelon Cut Outs

I’m a huge watermelon fan and I LOVE that watermelon are starting to show up at my local farmer’s markets this month! Watermelon is a great treat for kids and you can make it even more fun by cutting out shapes in the watermelon. All you have to do is cut the watermelon into slightly thinner slices than normal (1/4 inch to 1/2 inch) and then use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes in the watermelon. And you can use this amazing chicken shaped cookie cutter! I love this and I’ll definitely be using this to cut out some watermelon for my kids!

Strawberry Lady Bugs

Ok so this is really cute! I love how this snack is a fun twist on chocolate covered strawberries! They’re so cute and your kids will love them! I know this isn’t the healthiest snack, but honestly sometimes I’ll do anything to convince the kiddos to eat some fruits and vegetables. I love that it’s a fun, sweet treat that you kids will adore!

https://www.instagram.com/p/ngP7v8GC8w/?tagged=strawberryladybugs

Bell pepper pizzas

I LOVE pizza. I always have and I always will. But even though I’m convinced that pizza is good for the soul, I’m pretty sure it’s not the healthiest meal option. Which is why I love these bell pepper pizzas! All you have to do is put a layer of cheese (check out my recipe for homemade mozzarella) inside of a halved bell pepper and then put your toppings on it! You could even sneak in some more veggies, like kale, mushrooms, or tomatoes into these to try and get more vegetables in your kids diet! Check out the full recipe and instructions for these bell pepper pizzas here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSl8lIZg5cr/?tagged=bellpepperpizza

Watermelon Pizza

Like I said earlier, I love watermelon and I love pizza. So why not mix the two together? All you have to do for this yummy treat is top a round watermelon slice with sliced fruits such as kiwi, blueberries, and cantaloupe. If you want to make this treat extra yummy (but a little bit less healthy) you could spread a layer of homemade whipped cream on the watermelon (like it was pizza sauce) and then add the fruit on top.

And making your own whipped cream is so easy and it’s a fun activity you can do with your kids! All you need is a mason jar and some heavy whipping cream. Fill the mason jar about halfway full of heavy whipping cream and then start shaking it! After about 10 minutes of shaking you should have your own yummy, homemade whipped cream!

Grape Caterpillar

https://www.instagram.com/p/dMwEEJDFsp/?tagged=grapecaterpillars

I love how cute these grape caterpillars are! One of my favorite things to do to make fruits and vegetables more appealing to kids is to make them fun! And making caterpillars out of grapes is a great way to do that!

Homemade Fruit Snacks

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKJLPPgjIon/?tagged=homemadefruitsnacks

If there’s one universal truth I’ve seen about parenthood it’s that most (if not all) kids love fruit snacks. So while they might not be the healthiest snack choice, I prefer to make my own fruit snacks at home. That way I know exactly what ingredients and products are going into the food that I’m feeding my kids. I love this recipe because it’s SO EASY to make! Check out the full recipe and tutorial here. You’ll need silicone molds to put the fruit snacks in and you can find those right here!

Peanut Butter Snail

This might be one of my all time favorite snacks for kids. It’s like a glorified version of the classic ants on a log snack. I love how cute this snail is and I think it is such a fun way to get your kids to eat some healthy fruits and vegetables.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8T2mP4iaqj/?tagged=peanutbuttersnail

What healthy snacks do you give your kids! Help this momma out and share them with me in the comments below!

Nobody likes having dirty, smelly hands after being in your chicken coop, which is why I developed a simple 2 ingredient hand wash that smells good and leaves you extra sparkly.

Now this isn’t to say that chickens are dirty – they’re sweet, intelligent, lovable creatures.

But I wouldn’t be a good expert if I didn’t advise you to wash your hands – and the hands of your little ones – after touching your hens.

The truth is that people CAN pick up yuckies from their backyard chickens, and it’s better to know that and work around it, rather than find out the hard way (like I once did….with a diaper full of the STINKIEST green poop I’m ever likely to experience in this lifetime – lesson learned, people.)

How can you protect yourself?

According to the Center for Disease Control, the best way to protect yourself after handling your chickens is to wash your hands with soap and water for 30 seconds, making sure to scrub your hands.

Is it a cure-all? No, but it’s better than not doing it, and hand scrubbing is scientifically proven to reduce diseases.

You can buy soap (like my calendula hand soap here) or make your own (goat milk soap is a wonderful thing). Either way, you’re being a responsible owner by keeping yourself healthy.

Bacteria can really become a problem when your hens have a high “bad bacteria” load in their guts. A simple way to counteract this is to give them probiotics.

The idea is the probiotics help good bacteria proliferate, which crowds out the “bad bacteria” such as salmonella, campylobacter, and E. coli.

Giving your hens apple cider vinegar and fermented feed is a step in the right direction.

2 ingredient all-natural hand wash

After using soap and water, you can follow up with a second wash that includes aloe and essential oils.

Two of my favorite oils for this recipe are Young Living’s Thieves essential oil blend and Animal Scents Infect Away.

I only use a few drops and the bottles last quite a while. You can use any essential oil brand you like, just be sure the company is reputable and the oils are 100% pure.

Really do your homework, because the oils you see at big stores say they’re 100% pure on the box, but there’s no guarantee the oils in there are properly distilled or even the oils they claim on the label.

Which essential oils do I use?

I like using Young Living’s Thieves oil blend, which includes Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary essential oils.

If you’re wondering about the name, it’s inspired by a story originating in the Middle Ages.

According to legend, thieves would use a combination that included of fresh spices, and the essential oils would keep them healthy as they pilfered the possessions of people who had died from the Black Plague.

The story goes that because of the combination, they didn’t get sick from the Yersinia pestis bacteria said to cause the disease that killed nearly 50% of Europe in the 1300s.

The other oil I like to use, Infect Away, is formulated specifically for animals (although it’s also great or people) and comes pre-diluted with a carrier oil.

You’ll also need aloe gel which will help soften and keep your skin healthy.

Making 2 ingredient hand wash

To 6 ounces of aloe gel, you can add 30 drops of your oil of choice. I like using Thieves so I use 30 drops of Thieves oil.

Shake to combine, and leave on your shelf to use after you wash your hands. You don’t need to wash your hands after putting the aloe gel mixture on; doing so would reduce the effect of the gel.

If I’m in a rush, I’ll just use the 2 ingredient hand wash.

If your hands have chicken poop on them, then by all means, don’t skip the soap and water step, though! The last thing you want is bacteria or some other parasite in YOUR body. (Yes, parasites can happen too, especially with children who have weaker immune systems than adults. Ask me how I know.)

My favorite 2 ingredient hand wash is also great after you come in from gardening or playing with other pets! I hope you enjoy making it!

It might be July, and you might be thinking your gardening window has slammed shut, but don’t despair: There’s still PLENTY you can plant for a full fall harvest.

(This article is an excerpt from my #1 Amazon Best Selling book Organic By Choice: The (Secret) Rebel’s Guide To Backyard Gardening. You can grab it on sale on Amazon by clicking here!)

We’ve finished harvesting the cool weather crops we planted in March, so there’s lots of space opening up in our garden for a fall garden full of leafy greens, root crops, and more.

Our planting season lasts longer than other areas of the country because we can harvest veggies well into November (the temperatures don’t get really freezing until January).

Even if you haven’t started a garden at ALL this year, there’s still plenty of options that you can start right now – and they’ll be ready in less than 90 days.

In this article, I show you 20 vegetables you can still start in July for a full fall harvest, PLUS which veggies are hardy down to 25 degrees.

Remember: Even if your area has early frosts, you can use a cold frame to keep them growing. In this article, I show you which vegetables do well in cold frames.

20 Vegetables You Can Plant Right Now

You have options for leafy greens, root veggies, and vegetables you can ferment for a healthy snack all winter long (great for kid’s lunches too!)

Each vegetable listed takes between 60 to 90 days to mature, so you can expect a reasonably large harvest (depending on how much you plant) by the time frost hits.

Here’s what you can plant in July for a full fall harvest:

Herbs in pots
Beets
Beans
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Collard Greens
Green Onions
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leaf Lettuce
Mustard Greens
Peas
Radishes
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Turnips

What Vegetables Will Survive Down To 25 Degrees

While some of the veggies listed will survive in colder temperatures than 25 degrees (we’ve successfully overwintered spinach without a cold frame), they probably won’t grow too much when the temperatures really dip low and the ground freezes.

With the root vegetables, such as radishes, it’s important to make sure you harvest them before the ground completely freezes. You also don’t want the ground freezing and then thawing – that can cause rot.

And Remember: You can continue to grow these veggies in a South-facing cold frame well into winter in some areas! Make sure your cold frame gets plenty of light.

(In Organic By Choice: The (Secret) Rebel’s Guide to Backyard Gardening, I share full plans to create your own cold frame out of scrap wood as well as directions to build a hot bed with manure).

Vegetables that will survive down to 20 degrees are:

Beets
Green onions
Kale
Brussels sprouts
Peas
Radishes
Cabbage
Collards
Spinach

Vegetables That Will Survive a Light Frost (30 degrees or higher)

While not all vegetables can survive below 30, there are some that CAN survive a light frost, and are even enhanced by it.

Mustard and kale are two leafy greens that actually benefit from a light frost – it enhances their flavor. You can keep them in the garden longer than other vegetables, but once the temperatures will consistently be below 32 degrees, you will want to pull them out of the ground or take your chances in a South-facing cold frame.

All the veggies listed in the previous section can survive a light frost. Other vegetables that do well when frost hits are:

Lettuce
Mustard
Swiss Chard
Broccoli
Turnips

Throughout my experiences with gardening and working at a farm, I’ve learned that not everyone understands what fruits and vegetables are in season.

When I worked for a local farmer, I was asked many times if we had locally grown corn. In January. Now in somewhere that’s warm year round that might fly, but where I live it’s a little bit to cold for local corn in January;)

Each month I’m writing an article about what fruits and vegetables are in season during that month. Obviously this will vary depending on where you live, so this is a very general guide of what might be in season in your area and what you should look for when you head out to your local farmers market.

Eating locally grown food supports local farmers and it tastes SOOO GOOD!

Since this is a general guide, I recommend that you check out The Seasonal Food Guide. All you have to do is put in your zip code and the time of year and it will tell you exactly what foods are in season in your area! It’s an awesome resource that I use all of the time.

I always try to cook meals based around the foods that are season, so I’ve also included recipes for each fruit or vegetable that’s in season this month.

Alright so let’s get going! Here’s what you should buy at the farmer’s market in July!

July is one of my favorite months because of all of the fresh local food. In my area, July is when farmer’s markets really get going and there’s a farmer’s market going on somewhere almost every day. July is awesome because of all of the yummy fresh fruits and veggies are getting started! There’s nothing better than a locally grown watermelon on the Fourth of July (check out my favorite Fourth of July recipes here).

Corn

Oh corn. It’s one of my absolute favorite things about summer. There’s nothing better than some delicious corn on the cob. I love corn on the cob so much that I actually freeze my corn on the cob (in the husk!) so I can still eat corn on the cob once it’s out of season!

I take my leftover corn on the cob and use it to make my own corn syrup. I know, I know, corn syrup isn’t great for you, but especially if you make your own candy sometimes it’s necessary. And making your own is way better than buying the processed stuff from the store. Check out my guide on how to make your own corn syrup.

Grilling corn on the cob tastes AMAZING! Check out this awesome recipe for the BEST grilled corn on the cob ever!

Cucumbers

Cucumbers might be my favorite vegetable ever. They’re just SOO good! Now in my area cucumbers start showing up at the end of July or the beginning of August and that means it’s time to make some homemade pickles. I love pickling vegetables and you can check out some of my favorite recipes here. Also check out this quick and easy homemade pickles recipe!

Eggplants

Now eggplants are something that I don’t have a lot of experience with. But I’m dying to try them out! I’ll definitely be picking a couple up this month at the farmer’s market so I can try out this amazing baked eggplant parmesan recipe!

Plums

Plums are in season in July! I don’t have a lot of experience cooking with plums. I love eating them raw, but I’m dying to try this plum crisp recipe. It looks like the perfect dessert for a summer night!

Tomatoes

If you’re lucky, tomatoes should start popping up in your farmer’s market in July, usually later in the month. In my area they don’t start showing up until August, but I’ve found a farmer who grows early tomatoes in his greenhouse, so I can fulfil my fresh tomato cravings until the plants in my garden start producing;)

I LOVE tomatoes and I wish I could have them all year long! One great way to preserve some of your fresh tomatoes is to dry them! Dried tomatoes add an amazing burst of flavor to meals, so I love having them around. Check out my tips on how to dry your own tomatoes here!

I’m dreaming of eating fresh tomatoes right now, but come August I’ll probably be drowning in them. I love this Quinoa Stuffed Tomato Recipe because it’s DELICIOUS and it’s gluten-free.

And since I’m a tomato fanatic I also make my own homemade tomato sauce so that I can have tomatoes all year long.

Summer Squash

Summer squash is in season in July! Honestly, y’all probably don’t even need to buy these from the farmer’s market. Wait until yellow squash and zucchini are producing like crazy and your neighbors will be practically begging you to take some of their squash;) I love summer squash and it’s an easy plant to grow especially for busy people (because it doesn’t take a lot of work and it’s very productive).

Got more zucchini on your hands than you can handle? Try out this easy zucchini and parmesan soup. It’s so easy to make and it’s a great way to use up your extra zucchini.

Watermelon

Depending on your area, you might be able to get watermelon in late July! The second I see fresh watermelon at the farmers market I buy A LOT because my family can go through watermelon fast! I’m a huge watermelon fan and it’s the perfect treat for a hot summer day. Check out this amazing watermelon sherbet recipe that’s sure to help you cool off after a long day out in the heat.

Mint

I LOVE herbs and mint is one of my absolute favorite herbs to use for chickens. I use it with lavender to stimulate laying (I sell dried peppermint in the store here), and I use it as a natural fly repellant. I also use it for when I have an upset stomach. I chew on mint leaves or I’ll infuse it in my tea using my tea infuser. It works wonders at settling down an upset stomach!

Green Beans

I’ll admit I was never a fan of green beans growing up. We had the canned ones from the grocery store and honestly, they’re just gross. Then I tried fresh green beans and man they are so good!

This roasted green beans with parmesan recipe looks amazing! I’m so excited to try it out once green beans start showing up at my local farmers market!

Peppers

I LOVE peppers. Mostly because I love chips and salsa way more than I should. Homemade salsa is amazing and fresh, locally-grown peppers make it even better. Check out this quick and easy homemade salsa recipe for a yummy side dish for your next barbecue.

Do you eat locally grown food from the farmers market? I’d love to hear about it! Share what you bought at the farmer’s market this month in the comments below!