We are now offering various herbal teas and concoctions using plants we grow organically, forage, or procure from organic and sustainable sources.
You can catch us online or in local markets (we will share our schedule and locations soon!)
Be sure to check our Products page for current offerings.
crowwyld@thepreserveatuppsala.com
We decided to fence our garden (but not fragment the deer trail!) It wasn’t because of critters in the garden; well, at least not wildlife. Some of our tomato, bean, and pepper plants were destroyed by “country dogs” (dogs with owners and homes but are allowed to roam.)
After cleaning up the fifth pile of poop for the day in our garden area, I thought about fencing. Besides poop, after all, we had destroyed plants. We are dog people so I panicked and told the dogs’ owners that their dogs may/may not have ingested poisonous plants in our garden.
We thought we would revisit a list of common poisonous plants, some of which are found in a garden. This list was composed by CCSPCA.
Each of these plants have different medical needs so before inducing vomiting, call your Veterinarian. Some Veterinarians are unaware of the toxicity of some of these plants so ask them to call ASPCA Poison Control. You can also call ASPCA Poison Control, but there could be a charge.
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Phone Number: (888) 426-4435
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) is your best resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you think your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435. A consultation fee may apply.
One of my biggest challenges has been baking bread. I know, some of you are thinking, “what’s so difficult about that?” but it seems even with my scientist brain, all the right, clean tools, the yeast didn’t activate or the kneading was too much (by hand!) I made it a goal in 2021 to be able to bake bread. So why start with something basic like a loaf?
Instead, I opted for cinnamon rolls.
I gathered all of my supplies and ingredients. I washed all of my bowls and utensils and dried them, just to be safe. And I checked the date on the yeast we had. I was disappointed to see some we had bought April 2020 had actually expires October 2019 (eventually I will learn to check dates.) Luckily, I had several back-ups, all expiring in 2022.
And I started. I went through four batches of yeast as it would not activate. The temp of the warm milk was 112° so that wasn’t it. I was about to give up when I said, “no…I can do this.” And I did.
Fast forward…
After using almost every dish and utensil in our home…success…
Yeah, I should have trimmed my dough first so I had nice, neat, 12 rolls, but I’m a realist. I called my two ends “rustic rolls.”
Needless to say, they turned out great. However, a lesson was learned: I have the skill TO bake bread, but if just doesn’t bring me the joy I get from baking other things. I’ll gladly barter for home-baked bread though.
One goal down! Let’s move onto another.
I recently had someone ask me, “why should I buy your eggs over ones from the grocery store that I can get for $2/dozen?”
After explaining some differences, she walked away with two dozen eggs from our homestead.
First off, I will say that the eggs our ladies produce are graded as Grade AA large brown eggs. Eggs are graded based on visual appearance of the shell, the yolk and white, the strength of the shell, and weight of the egg. You can find more in-depth information on egg grading here.
The ladies, or the Hey-Heys as we call them, spend a large majority of their day roaming around a field, digging, scratching, eating grass and other plants, insects and worms. They are kept in their yard if we are doing something, and they go in their coop (“house,” The Mother Cluckin’ Eggship) at night.
A chicken’s diet directly correlates to the eggs they produce. The eggs produced by ours are much better in quality than Store-Bought eggs. Not only that, but they are more nutritious as what they eat and benefit from, so do we.
For a bit more information on the differences, I put together this video.
There wasn’t any rain in the forecast today so we started making the most of it. Besides adding to and turning our compost pile, we started building more raised beds.
The benefit of raised beds is that you can use whatever you want to build them (except treated lumber and some hardwoods.) We opted to use the trunks left from some clearing we did to improve wildlife habitat (more on that in another post later.)
Do logs break down? Yes.
Will they do so quickly? That depends on a few things: type, moisture, heat, location, age, health of tree, etc.
We chose the trunks because we had them on hand, and when they do break down, they will become part of the soil anyways. After some notches and planning, we started our first bed.
We will have several more along the way, but Andrew’s sinuses were congested making him woozy and cloudy. Safety first: no chainsaw work with THAT!
But we’re off to a good start!
I’m not making any resolutions for 2021. I looked back at 2020, and I am just going to keep doing the things that bring me and us joy and positive waves. I am going to stop doing things that don’t. The biggest thing I’ve learned in 2020 is that time is, indeed, precious and unpredictable. Things can do a 180° in a matter of a minute (or three minutes in our case this year.) Do what brings you joy and love. You get what you give so I’m going to make sure I give love and peace and time.
Welcome to our homestead. Ours is a unique homestead in that we live with nature versus against it. Our homestead is situated on six acres in the Appalachian foothills of Northwest Georgia. We (Andrew and Shelby Register) along with our dogs and our menagerie of animals call The Preserve at Uppsala our home. We have worked on and have traveled the United States and have seen the damage traditional agricultural practices have done to the ecosystems in which they exist. The soil is dry and depleted of nutrients to the extent that chemical nutrients have to be applied; livestock is often removed by physical or lethal means; native trees and plants are wiped clear to make room for crops and livestock operations. We decided to step away from the more commercial type of farms and farming methods and focus on methods that would work with nature and the landscape versus against it while also becoming more resilient and self-sufficient.
Some examples of methodology that we use or intend to use include the following:
Our Instagram showcases the many sights around our homestead…
2020 was a challenge for everyone around the world, and it continues to be a challenge as we all face something we’ve never faced before: a worldwide pandemic. Nonetheless, time moves on, and so are we!
Our plans for 2021 include the following:
