Name: collecting dehydrating and making fig leaf herbal tea @sharpridgehomestead
Uploaded: 2026-09-22T08:17:00-05:00
Duration: 8 min 17 s
Description: collecting dehydrating and making fig leaf herbal tea

collecting dehydrating and making fig leaf herbal tea

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2026-09-22 | collecting dehydrating and making fig leaf herbal tea

homestead cancer recovery update progress kayak usps issues life #homestead #cancer #recovery

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-12-30 | Progress ... Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean you aren't making it.

Just going over some of the things people who go through cancer chemo and radiation recovery go through so if that is you or you know someone going through that period of time, just know you have to be way more patient. Everything takes way longer and you have way less energy and time to get things done each day. As an example, pre-cancer, I would jump out of bed each morning at sunrise running (usually to the bathroom but it was still running) and these days its more like waking up, thanking god I am still alive, laying there waiting to see if there is anything unusual about my body so I don't fall when I get out of bed due to balance issues, then I finally get out of bed and make my way downstairs slowly and 2 or 3 hours later I finally start to feel like a human being again but during those 2-3 hours I don't do much of anything. So I work my day job and about the time it ends is when I have to take a power nap for an hour or two just to have enough energy to make it to bed time. It has taken way longer than I thought to even get to the point I am now and I can assure you I am a go-getter get-it-done kind of guy but there just isn't enough hours in the day to keep up with basic day to day stuff let alone all the extra things each year that come up seasonally. Its getting better ... but its getting better a s snails pace and that is so unlike me. The drs have said it could take 5-8 years and thats just unacceptable to me ... so I keep trying to do just 1 more thing extra each day. Some days I win, some days I fail.

Also having a beef with the USPS deliveries right before christmas. UPS I can kind of understand because they did get way larger trucks a year or so ago and its just 1 narrow lane back here. But USPS, I honestly think all these issues started when a new USPS postal worker started working here this year. I mean, the driveway is actually in better shape today than it has been in the past and none of the other 2 or 3 USPS workers complained as much as the new person. I believe the new postal worker just doesn't like their job or maybe they are afraid of driving on gravel roads with steep hills.

I just know someone is going to ask about the kayaks and I bought those from field and stream store which was the spin-off of dicks sporting goods way back in 2015/2016 when the kayaks were on sale. I use them every year until I got cancer for relaxation on the lake and also fishing on the lake. The brand has been really good and I would have no issues buying them again with one warning: they are not the lightest kayaks so not something you would want to have to pick up entirely off the ground and carry by yourself but ok to carry short distances. For longer distances, like in this video, I just drag them over rocks, logs, sticks etc and it does no damage to the bottoms of them. So they are built to last ... I did notice some of the seat material padding is started to come off but they weren't very comfortable to begin with when they were new so no big deal.

Some facts about hpv: cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm

the night before christmas at sharpridgehomestead #nightbeforechristmas #homestead #comedy #parody

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-12-24 | (in my best farmers only dot com voice) .... Well, the night before christmas at sharp ridge homestead ..... it started out good and then .....well, this happened

You'all know I ain't right since cancer ....

The way the world is, I feel the need to leave this disclaimer:
NOTICE: No AI Images were harmed during the filming of this motion picture and they were all paid their fair share of wages, same that I made to be exact.

Dont ever do this with your cast iron #castironcooking #castironrestoration #castironskillet

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-12-18 | People sure are funny these days. Ask 250 people about cast iron cooking, cast iron restoration, or cast iron skillets and you will get 250 different replies plus 25,000 ways that people say are wrong. You ever try to duct tape something on the outside of stucco? It doesn't stick does it? Its because its not stucco tape, it duck tape .... it sticks really well on ducks! Which brings me to cast iron.....I mean, i know everything about cast iron cooking because i invented it. You heard that right, i am the very first professional cast iron user in the whole wide world. I invented cast iron and therefore i invented cast iron cooking because i was like "this new cutting edge technology will bring the world together someday". I know how it's supposed to work because i invented it. Follow my methods and you will always be right! If you don't, it will be the beginning of the second coming (not to count, all the wasted food i will impart upon you, peasants!).

The garlic salt escapade in the beginning: I was doing a youtube video with my cell phone and had my phone in one hand trying to figure out how I was going to add "fresh ground pepper" since I would need both hands to do that and didn't want to stop recording ... so I skipped the pepper and moved to garlic salt which I had used a few days before and removed the little plastic thing with holes in it so I could use a measuring spoon ... except I never firmly put that plastic thing back on it so I am focused on the camera screen to make sure I was in frame, remove the lid one-handed, and then go to add the seasoning but that plastic shaker thing wasn't even on the container. #stillatetheeggsanyways

Cast iron was invented around the 6th century BCE and cast iron cookware was invented around 200 BC in China. The cast iron skillet became popular around the mid-19th century when cook stoves became popular. Humans alive today have had about 175 years to learn how to cook with them and we still argue about the correct way .... which doesn't surprise me.

Some of my more popular cast iron cooking videos:
secret of how to keep food from sticking: youtube.com/watch?v=zJvLsJMaBKg
no sticking over easy eggs: youtube.com/watch?v=46Ykf-Svsow
cast iron seasoning works every time easy peasy: youtube.com/watch?v=XdwEhhnXpEU
cast iron butter seared garlic steak youtube.com/watch?v=zLDQ3ra4XVc
cooking acid in cast iron (OMG!): youtube.com/watch?v=Ag6z8d_I19Y

Butchering a chicken in 5-8 min basic overview not graphic #chicken #butchering #minimal #equipment

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-12-12 | Some people don't want all the graphic details but want to know how its done so this is a very brief descriptive overview of how to process and butcher a chicken frugally with no special or minimal equipment in the most humane way possible. You can do a single chicken start to finish with no special equipment in 5-8 minutes.

The only equipment required is a stock pot, paring knife, wooden spoon, and a length of rope (which technically the rope isn't required but it makes it easier if you are butchering more than one at a time because you can go to get the second bird while the first one is bleeding out)

There are other methods besides cutting the jugular vein to dispatch a chicken but this is the most humane way possible. They are dead the moment you cut the jugular vein. Letting them bleed out just makes cleaning them easier and less messy and also reduces the iron taste in the chicken meat.

If you want the full 5 to 8 minute breakdown by steps it is:
1) get chicken, add to leg hold, cut jugular vein, let it bleed out - 2 minutes
2) scald the chicken to make feathers easier to remove - 90 seconds
3) remove feathers by hand and twist off the head - 2 minutes
4) remove its insides and butcher the chicken into major components 1-2 minutes
Total time as listed above - 7 minutes (expect it to take about 15 minutes for the first time - you get faster each time until you don't even need to think what the next step is)

My way saves you hundreds of dollars in a chicken plucker (which only saves you give or take 1 minute per bird) and all other steps take the same amount of time. Its a large return on investment for very little return on time buying a scalder and chicken plucker unless you are doing hundreds of birds a year. If you are like me and do a few birds once or twice a year, this method is perfect. If you were going to process 50 birds in 1 day, its only saving you 50 minutes total time to use a chicken plucker that cost $300-500+ dollars and most DIY scalders cost another $200 - 300 so just use your stove. Some people say it smells, but if you have ever cleaned a squirrel, rabbit, turkey, or deer ... its no worse than they are. If you only use that chicken plucker and gas scalder 1 or 2 times a year, how long does it take you to break even on the time you saved vs cost? My time is valuable but I also ain't stupid lol

I am going to have some very detailed and more graphic follow up videos broken down into:
Part 1 - equipment required
Part 2 - dispatching chickens
Part 3 - butchering and packaging for freezer

So be sure to like video and subscribe to my channel so you don't miss those videos.

best taste garlic bread stick cost pennies to make #frugal #breadmaker #garlic #breadsticks #frugal

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-12-06 | A 5lb bag of all purpose flour today cost $2.43. There are 18 cups of flour in 5lbs so 14 cents per cup. This recipe uses 3-1/3 cups so that means it costs less than $1 to make this entire recipe. Making it in the bread machine to take care of the mixing, kneading, rising cuts the preparation time down to about less than 5 minutes to dump the ingredients in, and then maybe 5-10 minutes to roll the finished dough out .... so 10-15 minutes tops. Then it takes just 15-18 minutes to bake in an oven. These garlic bread sticks taste amazing with the buttery topping I have used for years, its a recipe in itself and can be pre-made and left in the refrigerator until used. Its great on toast and any other recipe that requires butter and garlic and Italian seasonings.

Eds Homemade Breadsticks in Bread-maker

Prep Time: 5 minutes plus bread maker time of 1 hours, 30 minutes (bread-maker on dough menu)
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 1 hours 48 minutes
Yield: 12-14 garlic bread sticks

Soft, fluffy, garlic butter-topped homemade bread sticks are the perfect accompaniment to pretty much any dinner

Ingredients
1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) warm water (between 100–110°F, 38–43°C)
3 Tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3-1/3 cups (433g) flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for floured surface
2-1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)

Topping
2-3 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup cheese of choice (optional)

Instructions
Add ingredients in order required by your bread machine - mine is all liquids, then dry ingredients, then yeast in a pocket formed in the dry ingredients

Set bread machine to dough menu

Once completed, transfer dough to a floured surface and knead a few times adding flour until its not sticky

preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).

while oven is pre-heating, roll out dough using a rolling pin to about a 7 x 14 rectangle

Cut into 12-14 1 inch wide strips using a pizza cutter

Transfer to a lined cookie sheet (if using more than 1 sheet, don't forget to rotate the sheets during baking if they are on different racks). If you want to be fancy, twist the dough before placing on pan

If not using optional cheese:
bake for 15 –19 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pans (top to bottom, bottom to top) halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent with aluminum foil.
while baking, make the topping: Melt butter, and stir in salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning
Remove bread sticks from the oven, brush with garlic butter topping, and allow bread sticks to cool for a couple minutes before serving

If using optional cheese:
While baking, make the topping: Melt butter, and stir in salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning
bake for 15 minutes rotating the pans (top to bottom, bottom to top) halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent with aluminum foil. Remove from oven and squeeze bread sticks close together so they are touching
brush with garlic butter topping
top each 7 bread sticks with 1/2 cup of cheese of your choice
return to oven for 3-4 more minutes until cheese melts and edges of breadsticks start to brown
Remove from oven and allow bread sticks to cool for a couple minutes before serving

Serve warm

Cover leftovers tightly and store at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (i usually just wrap them in paper towels and store them in the microwave). Reheat as desired in microwave first wrapping in paper towel.

If you don't own a bread machine, I can highly recommend this one ... I have made hundreds of loaves of bread and other things in it over the last 10 or more years: amzn.to/3TuIJBF
pizza cutter: amzn.to/47Zavda
buy your yeast in 4oz bulk (4 oz is 113 grams) - it can make about 16 breads from 1 jar if they all take 7 oz of yeast - Fleischmann's Yeast Bread Machine 4oz is less than $5 at walmart but $21 at amazon lol - walmart.com/ip/Fleischmann-s-Classic-Bread-Machine-Yeast-4-oz/10306744

Biolite stove family emergency after 11 years still working #biolite #stove #preparedness #family

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-12-06 | I bought a biolite stove when they first came out because I thought it was so cool that it generated its own electricity to run its fans & charge cell phones, emergency usb lighting, or to keep a usb/solar battery topped off in an emergency situation. Once while winter hiking during a snow storm, I even used it to keep me warm & dry out some clothing overnight while also charging a solar battery bank that wouldn't work since there was no sun (this required a lot of time to keep the flame going all night with the smaller fuel canister but I wasn't sleeping anyways in this situation and it amazingly puts out a LOT of heat for such a small stove due to its design of using a fan to recirculate the oxygen causing better combustion - way better than just burning sticks alone)

About a year after I bought this biolite stove was also at a time I was moving toward ultralite hiking (sub-8lb base weight) and converting all of my gear to ultra lite, but I kept this stove because I understood its importance and features for emergencies. I've gotten my gear down as far as I can go in weight and still be comfortable down around 8 lbs where it has remained since 2018 just simply because nothing lighter has come out I can upgrade. I mention that because ... if biolite had a titanium version of a backpacking stove more suitable for 1 person instead of a family, I would jump on it (do you hear me biolite? I've been waiting like 11 years now). Titanium stoves has been the norm for backpacking for many years now .... whereas stainless steel is great but heavy by today standards. Anyways, that biolite stove that was so cool when I first bought it has mostly been used to make char cloth every fall which is when I go through all my kits and replace anything missing that I used up over the spring through summer time and the biolite stove is absolutely amazing at making char cloth due to the way it adds additional air circulation via its built in fans. Anyways, years ago I did a video on making char cloth using a biolite stove and just wanted to update that is still what I use today. Now, if I had a family I would probably use the stove more in my family emergency kit simply because it can boil a LOT of water at once, 1.5 Liters. If you are using emergency survival foods like mountain house or similar, 1.5L of water is perfect amount for a family of 4 to have a hot meal and a hot drink too in about 12 minutes time to boil the water and purify it. In all honesty, it would be down to using either a solo stove (which I own the solo stove lite with the 900 mil cup (point 9 liters so slightly less than 1 liter) I've had almost since they came out), or the biolite stove would is a little bit larger but has a 1.5 liter cup and the ability to recharge phones, usb devices, battery banks. The biolite stove has an added feature the solo stove doesn't have and that's the ability to recharge usb devices (and unless they have updated this with newer versions of the stove, it would be using older usb-a technology limited to 1 amp max charge rate). Also within my many stoves I own arsenal (because I own a lot of them), I would probably also consider using the Bushbox XL which I own in both stainless steel and titanium. And as far as biomass stoves go, that's pretty much the extent of my family sized stoves. I list some others below more suitable for 1 or 2 people sharing.

I have several stove review videos on my channel ... and lots of bushcraft and hiking videos where I am using various stoves. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, pros and cons but i could honestly recommend any of them for family emergency use although several of them are more convenient for just 1 or 2 people you can still use them in a family setting by allowing some family members to eat while you are cooking for another member.

Biolite and some other stoves I own (i should do a comparison video someday)
Biolite stove only (use your own pot): amzn.to/40KxYN6
biolite stove with coffee set (includes pot, coffee press, and grill): amzn.to/3SzF7xE
a great smaller biomass stove without the electronics amzn.to/3NeJ8nx
bushbox xl titanium stove: amzn.to/479ArCY
bushbox xl stainless steel stove: amzn.to/3srhMUi
esbit folding hexamine fuel tabs stove amzn.to/4a3kWOX
esbit ultralight stove amzn.to/3RbZcI4
brs3000t isopropane backpacking stove amzn.to/3T5Ukqs
vargo titanium alcohol stove amzn.to/46IQ4R0
vargo tittanium biomass stove amzn.to/46LJkBV
I own 3 of these, one of my fav ultralight stoves, does alcohol, biomass, hexamine amzn.to/3GAvjvT
I also own 3 of these because they used to be what I carried in my get home bags before the one above because they can be used with hexamine as designed but also biomass sticks and twigs in an emergency and if you could fashion some sort of smaller metal container they would also do alcohol fuel too amzn.to/47ERCfW

Eds cranberry pineapple orange pecan cakeamabob w/ pineapple orange glaze #recipe #cranberry #orange

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-12-04 | A sharp ridge homestead original .... Eds cranberry pineapple orange pecan cakeamabob with pineapple orange glaze combines a lot of holiday flavors into 1 dish.

The backstory .... one day I started out to make a cinnamon coffee cake because I wanted something sweet. I kinda wanted something different and was getting burned out on cinnamon coffee cake .... looking over what was in the kitchen cabinets, this is what I threw together .... and omg is it a HIT! When I was fighting cancer, I said post-cancer I would share all of my secrets ... so here we are.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think in the comments:

Eds cranberry pineapple orange pecan cakeamabob with pineapple orange glaze

Ingredients:
Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries soaked in water about an hour (or fresh/frozen)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup (6 oz) dole pineapple orange juice
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
4 tablespoon pecans course chopped
4 tablespoons cranberries course chopped

Glaze
1 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 tablespoons dole pineapple orange juice

Preheat your oven to 375°F

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add in the dried cranberries, chopped pecans.

Add in the pineapple orange juice, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; a few lumps are okay.

Spoon the batter into a glass baking dish - no non-stick sprays are needed

Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 32-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges are just starting to brown lightly

While baking, add pecan and cranberries for toppings to blender and chop until course but not too fine.

After removing from oven allow to cool slightly then, add the course chopped cranberry pecan topping.

Do not pre-make the glaze because it will set up in a minute or two.

To make the glaze, In a bowl mix the powdered sugar and pineapple orange juice glaze ... drizzle glaze over cake while its still warm.

Serve warm

garden fresh green onions in the winter? YES! #winter #onions #seedtoseed #cooking #garden

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-12-02 | If you do seed to seed gardening, then you know onions have to grow 2 years before they seed. The nice thing about that is, you always have fresh green onions all winter from the garden at least until the ground freezes hard and they get difficult to pull up (however, you can take some water with you and pour on the ground, wait a few minutes, and pull them up too).

So I am getting ready to make a BBQ roast and figured I would share this little bit of knowledge with you since I just pulled these up after several hard freezes and its November 26th here in Kentucky and about 42 degrees outside today.

wild turkeys and cat Halloween interaction on homestead full version unedited

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-29 | this is the raw video of the cat and turkey interaction on Halloween evening. The video I uploaded was reduced down to like 1 minute and people had questions so here is the full unedited version

save the bees (from humans) #savethebees #honeybee #fromhumans

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-27 | This is my opinion and you don't have to agree with it, but i feel like once the "save the bees" movement was started, that pretty much set the bees fate in stone. Humans destroy everything they touch including the environment, water supplies, food, humanity, space with all the junk, and soon to be distant planets once earth is totally ruined. Humans, by nature, want to nurture and love and provide for anything we get involved with except for other humans, how ironic. But that doesn't mean the things we are doing are helping the cause. Truthfully, i think long term its going to have the exact opposite effect as weakened bee genetics are permitted to breed, over-use of medications are used to treat diseases and the bees become resistant, people raise bees just to save the bees because they don't care about honey and they just let their hives swarm to become someone else problems, and so many other things that to me just want to scream "STOP" trying to save the bees from everything except HUMANS. Humans will be why bees need saved.

If you pay attention to say a local news outlet. If they post some story about some animal being rescued, there will be hundreds to thousands of likes and shares. But then they post some news article about a human needing rescued, and it will have way less likes and shares, if any. OMG, this dog is homeless .... 7 million people want to adopt it. But what about the homeless people? I see this happening all the time where some animal shelter has a lack of funds and everybody rushes out to save the animals by donating money, food, time, or helping animals get adopted ... but have you ever seen a news story about homeless people shelters needing help? What about homeless communities? Why do they even exist? How is it that ANY animal no matter what kind of animal it is has a safe warm place to go and rest and get fed but a human doesn't? We give more love and compassion to animals than our fellow man.

If you are in any type of "groups" or "communities" that discuss bees regularly, you certainly know what I am talking about. Every.single.spring "all my bees died, it must have been from varroa even though I think my numbers were low. I mean, I don't know, but I treat the bees all the time so they shouldn't have varroa" and "i think my bees must have swarmed, I last checked them about 2 months ago and they were doing fine but now I can't find the queen and I don't see any eggs or larva but I love my girls and want them to make it" .... every fall "got my bees ready for winter ... we did 2 layers of R30 insulation followed by about 10 layers of plastic wrap and have this hive air tight. We also installed a heater by the entrance so they stay cozy and warm all winter. They shouldn't have any troubles making it through a winter in Florida this year". A friend of mine was joking, i hope, and said she sent her bees down south to a bee colony where they send pictures every week and do macaroni art .... but yea, that wouldn't surprise me one bit to read that in one of those bee groups. I simply replied, sounds like spring break ... also known for breeding bad genetics.

The point is, everybody feels like they need to nurture everything to death (except humans, you're on your own!) .... literally, and that's what I think is going to happen with the bees. The last few years, I feel like the biggest reason why so many bees have died over winter is just plain old bad beekeeping ... humans continuing to mess up everything they touch. Because they feel like they are helping the bees by giving them a warm, safe home free of predators and diseases and parasites and they have plenty of food and its just a perfect bee apiary where all the girls are just flying around singing and dancing and bringing in so much pollen and honey because they are so happy and you get to watch them working and doing the waggle dance coochie coochie cooo. Everything is a perfect world in my apiary and my contributions alone to save the bees saved the bees solely by myself.....thank me very much!

So save the bees from those types of humans and just humans in general ... would be the greatest thing you could ever do except for maybe saving humans from humans.

Do something kind for your fellow man every day ... always pay it forward, sometimes all it takes to make someones day is a simple "Hey, how are you doing today?" to a perfect stranger. Buy someone you don't know a coffee. Volunteer some time at a homeless people shelter. Show other humans the same compassion you show animals and realize animals dna has existed for thousands of years and they don't need our help near as much as we think they do.

/rant

God bless!

I only care about mating, pooping, & eating #buck #deer #dontcare

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-25 | I'm a deer, the rut is on, I don't care about anything except mating, pooping, and eating ... silly humans are not any of those things.

primitive fire making fire piston #shorts #primitive #technology #fire #piston #charcloth

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-23 | primitive fire making fire piston

In a previous video on creating an ember using flint, steel, char cloth ... i stated i wasn't as proficient with fire piston fires which is another primitive fire starting method used for thousands of years that the skills are now mostly forgotten by humans. Its actually important to know because it contributed a lot to modern history and technology since it is what the diesel engine design is based on. If you rapidly compress air it heats up enough to ignite an ember on something flammable. Although i am using a fire piston purchased off amazon years ago, they can also be made entirely of natural materials and since they only require natural materials to work, its a great skill to know.

link to Amazon fire pistons:
basic, what I have amzn.to/46kFH5D
a nice kit amzn.to/49IsCGc
too fancy for me amzn.to/47i5psN

link to previous flint & steel fire making video: youtube.com/watch?v=AX53xIoVa4Q

the longer version of this video youtube.com/watch?v=2ZbJ0lBKaGs

eds large $3.98 best tasting homemade pizza garlic Italian from scratch #best #cheap #pizza #dough

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-22 | outside of several of my own bread recipes, i also have several pizza dough recipes and this is one of my favorites. Not only that, the last time i was in a store, a frozen 12" pizza was $10. That's ridiculous. I take frugal to new levels and have for years so stick around and let me show you how to save money, especially during these awesome "biden economy years"

I did a cost analysis of this with all the major ingredients to make the pizza after a friend posted that they bought a large pizza and it was $38 to feed his family 1 time and then was saying if they bought frozen pizzas it would take 2-3 at $10 each (I had to look this up because that didn't really make much sense but its true, the average frozen store pizza is 10-12" so it would take 2-3 to make the average 16" large pizza volume). So then I decided to see what it would cost me to make it from scratch and then looked up the current prices at walmart to break it down. It came to $3.98

Here is the cost breakdown for the major components (if you had to buy all the stuff for the first time it might cost more but I would assume most people have the other things in their cabinets already):

16" deep crust pizza $3.98 (prices are cost per pizza major components - there was an error in the original math that said $4.32 per pizza because I was mathing in my head lol and there are 18 cups of flour in a 5lb bag, not 15 cups like i thought):
$ .41 flour (a 5# bag makes 6 pizza crusts - great value $2.43 5# bag)
$1.21 pepperoni (1 box makes 2 pizza's - hormel spicy $2.43 per box)
$ .75 mushrooms (1 can makes 2 pizzas - great value $1.50 per can)
$1.11 cheese (1 bag makes 2 pizzas - great value mozerella 8oz shredded $2.22 bag)
$ .50 pizza sauce (1 jar makes 4 pizzas - great value jar $1.98)

If you wanted to make this in a bowl instead of a breadmaker, the time will still take about 1 hour 30 minutes and this is the basic steps (preheat oven to 450 degrees - if you have a pizza oven, use 550 degrees)
1- add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon (or add to a mixer and use a dough hook for about 1-2 minutes)
2 - once its mixed, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest about 20 minutes
3 - place the dough on a floured surface and knead for about 20 minutes
4 - place the dough back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap until it doubles in size - it helps to place the bowl in a warm area like on top of your refrigerator
5 - place the dough back into your floured surface and punch the dough down a few times
6 - split the dough in 1/2
7 - roll it out on your pizza pan and add the toppings
8 - bake 15 minutes or until crust is the texture you like

If you are in the market for a bread-maker, I highly recommend this one - its the same model I use because its newer but I have made hundreds of loaves of bread with this thing over the last 12-15 years. It will also make yogurt, jam, bread, dough ... its a huge time saver:
bread maker: amzn.to/3uyKzGR

old-timer knowledge stratify seeds so they sprout in spring #seedtoseed #sprout #stratification

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-20 | Nearly all fruit, berry, vegetable plants that create seeds need to be stratified to simulate winter has come and passed before they will sprout and grow into new plants from seed. I see people post in forums often or hear about people collecting seeds from seed to seed gardening that don't have successful planting the following year because they skip this step. What appens is that the seeds don't sprout because to them the season never changed. It's still summertime or fall and it would be silly for them to sprout now just to die in a few weeks before they produce. So stratification of seeds simulates winter and gives them the required chill hours so they have explosive growth. Stratifying seeds is different than long-term seed storage where you just place dry seeds in a freezer for years until needed. Stratification requires moisture and a long time at near freezing temperatures but not actually freezing. You can find the required chill hours for most plants by just googling "chill hours for apples" using apples as an example and that is how long those seeds need to remain at near freezing temperatures before they will sprout and grow. You will be surprised to find, that the chill hours is almost identical to the amount of time before winter comes and goes (although some plants grown down south have lower chill hours, most plants up north require about 4-6 months). So in this video, i show you how i stratify pawpaw and muscadine grape seeds over winter for successful planting in the spring.

when a friend calls you out #fire #ember #firepiston #skill #firemaking #survival #howto #primitive

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-18 | In a previous video on creating an ember using flint, steel, char cloth ... i stated i wasn't as proficient with fire piston fires which is another primitive fire starting method used for thousands of years that the skills are now mostly forgotten by humans. Its actually important to know because it contributed a lot to modern history and technology since it is what the diesel engine design is based on. If you rapidly compress air it heats up enough to ignite an ember on something flammable. Although i am using a fire piston purchased off amazon years ago, they can also be made entirely of natural materials and since they only require natural materials to work, its a great skill to know.

Some people like to say "I would never carry a fire piston because the o-rings wear out". Well, they didn't even have o-rings when the fire pistons were first used somewhere around 1,000 - 1,500 BC so over 3,000 years ago. A lot of things can serve the same purpose as an o-ring such as wet sinew from an animal, intestines from an animal, cordage you have on you or make, or the inner strands of 550 paracord. You can make the hollow tube from all kinds of natural materials also such as using antler, bamboo, hollowed wood, animal horns, The rod that gets pushed inside the hollow cylinder can be any straight stick. It seems a lot of people just limit themselves to current technology when most of the survival things we practice have existed for thousands of years. Did you know humans have been creating clothing and textiles for over 63,000 years (and up to 117,000 years) ... let that sink in how they achieved that without modern factories, farms, machinery, tools, etc. Always think outside the box!

link to Amazon fire pistons:
basic, what I have amzn.to/46kFH5D
a nice kit amzn.to/49IsCGc
too fancy for me amzn.to/47i5psN

link to previous flint & steel fire making video: youtube.com/watch?v=AX53xIoVa4Q

Simple way to make a fire piston from all natural materials:
Find a straight hardwood stick 4-6 inches in length and 1/2 - 3/4" diameter (it can be any length and diameter really but the larger it is, the heavier it is ). All wooden pieces used should not be cracked or have any holes in them.

Find a 2nd hardwood stick same length or slightly longer than the first one about 1/4" in diameter.

about 1/2" from one end of this smaller diameter stick which will be the plunger, cut a grove about 1/4" wide all the way around the stick - this will be where our natural o-ring will sit (this can also be wider to accommodate wider material)

use an antler point or awl or sharp point of a rock to place a dimple to hold the char cloth on the end of the smaller diameter stick on the same end where the groove is.

Find the center of your larger stick on one end and mark it

Use something to drill a hole slightly larger in diameter than your second stick stopping short of the opposite end - the amount of material left needs to be strong enough so it doesn't blow out from air pressure, so maybe stop 3/4" to 1" short of the end.

Use a drill bit, a metal clothes hanger or piece of wire, the tip of an antler, just needs to be something harder than the wood to drill the hole (the hardest part). In indonesia, they would use sand lubricated with coconut oil as a type of sandpaper)

Check the fit of your smaller stick inside the larger stick and adjust so it slides freely - you could theoretically grind up some rock into a powder or even use something like clay soil to serve as sandpaper in order to get the hole even and smooth.

For your o-ring, use something like sinew or animal intestines fit into the o-ring grove. It needs to be slightly thicker than the smaller sticks outer edges. This is so when it is wet, it will form a tight seal against the hole surface of the larger stick.

Place you char material in the dimple on the end of the smaller stick

Place the smaller stick into the hole of the larger stick

Invert the sticks so the smaller stick is facing downward.

Grab the larger stick with both hands and smack it against a rock or the ground or a piece of wood forcing the smaller stick deep into the larger stick with great speed and force.

Immediately remove the smaller stick and check for an ember

Repeat until you get it right

Other suggestions: many people start with 2 dowel rods of different diameters and use modern technology like drill presses to make these. That's a good way to learn their construction and how the technology works.

Some people even go as far as using something like copper pipe with a dowel rod to make the setup and simply soldering a cap on 1 end of the pipe and gluing a wooden knob onto the end of the dowel opposite the end where the char cloth goes.

Either way, there are a lot of ways to make these today using new or old technology so understanding how they are made and how they work can someday save your life.

how to flint+steel+char cloth = fire (subscriber shoutout) #fire #charcloth #flint #steel #survive

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-15 | a subscriber asked me about the video on making a fire using char cloth I had mentioned in the "making char cloth video" and it was during the cancer battle years so i didn't think i did the video. But i actually found a different video i did in 2022 using flint and steel with char cloth after recording this one, it's just i didn't remember doing it because of the memory issues from chemo brain ... so here we are. I did it again and a little more in-depth with some tips and tricks and methods and better camera angles, but still having memory issues so sometimes i say one word when i mean something else. I used to be pretty snappy and witty before cancer and now its like my brain struggles to process information and find the right words. The cancer made me feel like I am now 1248 years old when I am really only 969 years old lol. That's just life and like survival situations, being able to adapt is often the difference between winning or losing and i don't like losing.

I'm really good at burning bridges, you could say I'm a pro! When I'm not burning bridges, i like to practice making fires using bic lighters, flint and steel, char cloth, bow drill, hand drill, fire roll, and many other methods. About the only type of fire i suck at is fire piston and i am hit or miss with using them. Sometimes those fire making videos make it to my homestead channel because its a great survival skill to know and the world gets more strange every day.

One thing I will tell you, is that I am very proficient at using flint and steel because I have been making fires with them since I was a kid ... so something like 943 years now ... it seems. I consider myself more proficient using flint and steel than I do ferrocerium rods. Call me stupid if you will, but someday ferro rods might not be so readily available, so having other methods is always great practice. Flint and steel has been around a long time, not as long as friction fires using bow drill or hand drill, but probably as long as man has been making metal ... which is a very very long time. Fire is important to human survival and knowing a collection of ways outside of bic lighters and ferro rods might be helpful someday. I think flint and steel is easier to master than bow drill or hand drill and to be honest I can often get a flint and steel fire when wood is damp and ferro rod or friction fires are useless. You can make char cloth out of any combustible material (so you don't have to use cotton, although cotton is readily available but hemp, grasses, leaves, wood, punk wood and many others also work to make char cloth or to help you create an ember in the absence of char cloth). You can also find pieces of charcoal in old fire pits, etc and grind them up into a powder and it works too. Outside of flint, there are other rocks that also work such as chert. That means, as long as you can find a high carbon steel (which is about everywhere as discarded trash but hopefully you also carry a high carbon steel pocket knife ... even most cheap knives will work in a pinch) then you can always make flint and steel fires from material readily available, unlike ferro rod which has to be manufactured by someone and purchased by you. That is why flint and steel is my #2 go to method for starting fires, with a bic lighter being #1. Someone is going to say, but you have to have char cloth in order to make a flint and steel fire ... and well, that's not entirely true (if you want me to prove this, I will)

Knowledge is power and i keep sharing knowledge in order to help others (even though there are 7 bazillion other flint and steel fire making videos on youtube using char cloth, if this video helps even one person master this technique, it was worth the time to make the video for me).

As always, god bless you, god bless your families, god bless your homesteads.

One note: I would not skimp on the fire steel if you are going to buy one, yes the one I recommend and use cost more than the other Chinese made ones that look just like it but trust me ... I have bought many over the years and the one below consistently out-performs all of the others due to better steel used (I am not paid to say that, I'm not sponsored by them or anyone else in my videos, its just the truth)

firesteel I use: amzn.to/3FXZblF
altoids tin: amzn.to/3MJGi9M
flint rock: amzn.to/3SHg6k6

Cant eat bread because saliva glands damaged chemo & radiation? Watch this!

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-13 | I've made my own bread for years. Post chemo and radiation due to cancer (see my cancer story playlist) i havent been able to eat bread because my saliva glands were damaged by the chemo or radiation or both. I love peanut butter sandwich dipped in chili. I also couldn't eat peanut butter for the same reason as the bread. I've also created.several of my own bread recipes over the years and this year i decided to fix this problem. I spent weeks, actually closer to 3 months, experimenting with various ingredients trying to find the perfect combination of softness, moisture, and taste so that once again i could enjoy peanut butter sandwich dipped in home made chili. This recioe will work for anyone and several people on my other social media channels tried it before i recorded the instructional video. Its a hit!

Eds Daily Bread: youtube.com/watch?v=Fz6XfNRgdBY

Eds Daily Home Made Bread #bread #machine #sharpridgehomestead #recipe #edsdailybread #postcancer

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-11 | I've created several bread recipes over the years based on my own wants and needs. I often start with basic recipes or something someone else created and then try it and feel it needs something else and by the time is done, I have an entirely new recipe (this is me with all recipes by the way). Prior to having cancer, i had my go-to bread recipe that many people loved. After cancer, i haven't been able to eat bread because my saliva glands were damaged by chemo and radiation. But i am a solution specialist and problem solver. Craving one of my favorite things is also how i found out i also couldn't eat peanut butter any more. So i wanted to invent a bread that was light and fluffy with just enough moisture so that it wouldn't stick to my teeth and gums and top and sides of my mouth and my tonsils and throat and so i didn't choke to death from eating bread. You couldn't imagine how tough its been! You see, you never realize how important saliva glands are for eating until they don't work anymore. They are responsible for literally lubricating all foods so they don't stick anywhere in your mouth, or throat, and helps food to break down as you chew it. The easiest way to explain it, is to stick 5 cotton balls in your mouth and try to eat like that.

So, I spent 3 months wasting recipe after recipe after recipe trying new combinations of ingredients and then i got it right. So I made it again to make sure i remembered the recipe because i seldom write anything down and again i could eat it. So then i posted about it along with the recipe to my personal Facebook account and several people tried it there because they know a recipe from sharp ridge homestead is always awesome. Everyone loved it. So i made it again and tried it with peanut butter and i could also eat that, although to be fair it didn't taste like peanut better....much more subdued but it was progress. Finally, i made it again to create this video and to finally have the one favorite meal i haven't had for 3 years, a peanut butter sandwich on home-made bread dipped in homemade chili. OMG! It worked.

Never give up, there is always a way. God bless and hope you enjoy.

Side note: daily bread doesn't mean I eat this bread every dail but this is my now go-to bread recipe for when I do eat bread. I try to live a relatively healthy lifestyle so I simply can't eat bread every day even if I could or wanted to. I do eat 3-5 home cooked meals every day but I use my homestead meal prepping method so I only cook once or twice a week. But there are times I will eat bread and this is the recipe I am using now. I eat bread pretty much any time I make chili or any time I am having a cookout (I made my own buns too, recipes on my channel), or any time I want to enjoy all the various jams and jellys I make.

home made hamburger bun recipe youtube.com/watch?v=4Qq-BurQsrI

breadmaker amzn.to/3MAsSgv
cooling rack amzn.to/3QV6kK0
bread slicer amzn.to/3SBWUEb
bread knife amzn.to/469AAFh
measuring cups & spoon set amzn.to/40G8znK
Fleischmann's Yeast Bread Machine 4oz (way cheaper at walmart, $4.97 when video was posted): 4 oz will probably last most people about 6 months baking bread every week amzn.to/3SzMl4E

Old-timer Knowledge Making & Using Black Walnut Tincture #black #walnut #tincture

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-08 | Black Walnut Tincture has been used for thousands of years to treat many different things. Its in any reputable herbal remedy book. Due to its various compounds, modern science has finally started researching how it can be used for treating various fungus, parasites, virus infections, cancers, and as an anti-bacterial.

Before modern medicine existed, herbalists were known to use black walnut tinctures and powders for a variety of conditions including easing scrofula, ulcers, wounds, rickets, scurvy and as a gargle.

Russian military hospitals also used the nut as a cleansing and quick healing medication for wounds and ulcers.

Other uses have included:
help shrink the sweat glands and reduce excessive sweating
lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels
reduces heavy menstrual bleeding
stops diarrhea
aids digestion
helps relieve colic, heartburn and flatulence
stimulates bile flow
easing pain in spleen
balances blood sugar levels
combats malaria
helps treat syphilis
helps with skin conditions such as boils and acne
treating internal parasites
Hypothyroidism – works for some people, depending on root cause

Various parts, including the nut meat, the husk, and the leaves of the black walnut can be used for different medicinal purposes (not counting agricultural and survival fishing purposes - as a note, using juglone which is a chemical substance in husks for fishing is illegal in the united states). One of the most popular uses is as a tincture. A tincture is created by soaking black walnut hulls/husks in alcohol for a period of time to release chemicals and compounds that are alcohol soluble. This is then filtered for heavy particles and served diluted in a liquid such as water or orange juice. The tincture can then be ingested to treat gastrointestinal issues, stomach bugs, and many other illnesses. The tincture can also be used for treating many skin conditions such as fungus, athletes foot, warts by applying directly or via a foot bath.

Walnuts are known to be high in vitamin E and antioxidants (tocopherol) content, but black walnut contains a significantly greater amount of α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol (a prevailing isomer) compared with Persian walnut. Although there is no significant research on the association of black walnut consumption with the health benefits of α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol, recent studies have reported that these molecules are associated with preventing cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Some recent medical literature on black walnut usage:
Profiling Anticancer and Antioxidant Activities of Phenolic Compounds Present in Black Walnuts pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33023106
Identifying Antibacterial Compounds in Black Walnuts ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6316014
An overview of phytochemicals and potential health-promoting properties of black walnut pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2020/ra/d0ra05714b#!
Black Walnut ( Juglans nigra) Extracts Inhibit Proinflammatory Cytokine Production pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31607915
Quantification of Vitamins, Minerals, and Amino Acids in Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9363771

There are hundreds of other research articles and peer reviewed studies available.

Some other uses of black walnuts includes the chemical juglone for fishing. Juglone is the chemical found in husks and leaves and roots of black walnut trees. If a body of water has juglone added to it from 24-88 parts per billion, it causes the fish to die and float to the surface. Old-timers would do this to kill off ponds before restocking. Using this technique for fishing is illegal in the united states but if SHTF or you are in a survival situation (let assume you go on a hike and get lost and 2 weeks later you are still lost ... I think its worth breaking the law to stay alive since the average person can only live about 3 weeks without food). It is also used as a way to force worms and night crawlers out of the ground to use as fishing bait. By the way, there are other plants that contain other chemicals that do the same thing, such as mullein seeds ground to a powder which contains saponins or rabbit pea (tephrosia virginiana) which contains rotenone does the same thing.

Agricultural uses are using juglone as a natural pesticide and insecticide.

As you can see, in this day and age, knowing how to make black walnut tincture should be a part of every homestead, survivalist, and preppers arsenal.

There are lots of tincture bottles on amazon, they are priced based on quantity, color, and size. This is one I have purchased before: amzn.to/3Qyew1c and also these are the blue ones like in the video amzn.to/3Sy4UGq

separating muscadine skin, seeds, pulp with my strong hand (if you get this joke) #muscadine #seed

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-06 | Not everybody likes muscadine seeds in their jelly even though there are a ton of healthy and medicinal reasons to eat them whole (skin, seeds, pulp). Muscadine have six times the resveratrol of regular grapes. Resveratrol in the recent years have been the center of attention for all medical researchers. Resveratrol is a very potent antioxidant found in the grape.

So in this video i share with you how I remove the skin by squeezing out the pulp and separating the seeds, then toss it on the stove with sugar heated to a rolling boil before water bath canning for 10 minutes. It's the same as my other muscadine grape jelly video sans the 4 hours standing there squeezing each grape one at a time .... using my strong hand. I usually only do this for 1 small 4-5 pint batch out of the 12 or so pints I make every year because its just sooooo much work and its not that hard to simply flick the seeds off a slice of bread using the end of a butter knife if you don't like the seeds.

All of the muscadine grape (skin, seeds, pulp) have individual natural medicinal properties. So that youtube can't demonitize this video, here are the publications for you to read up on yourself:

Anticancer effects of four varieties of muscadine grape pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17472467

Effect of Muscadine Grape Seed Supplementation on Vascular Function in Subjects with or at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: A Randomized Crossover Trial ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3313487

Antioxidant capacity, phenolic content, and profiling of phenolic compounds in the seeds, skin, and pulp of Vitis rotundifolia (Muscadine Grapes) As determined by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS(n) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20334341

Antimicrobial effect of water-soluble muscadine seed extracts on Escherichia coli O157:H7 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18680948

You can also buy muscadine grape seed extract and powders on amazon:
Muscadine grape supplement: amzn.to/47lQtcR
Muscadine seed supplement: amzn.to/40lvtAA
Muscadine seed + skin supplement: amzn.to/3G3mHhr

The real deal: eds pumpkin pie ice cream #pumpkinpieicecream #pumpkin #pie #icecream

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-04 | I tried a few pumpkin pie ice cream recipes and didn't care for any of them, so i just invented a new recipe myself from scratch. It took me quiet a while to get the pumpkin pie filling taste with the crust but here we are....the real deal. This tastes just like old fashioned homemade pumpkin pie .... in ice cream format. Try it and let me know what you think in the comments.

Some additional notes:

if you want it to be more creamy like soft-serve ice cream consistency, add about 1 - 2 cups of heavy cream .... lately I've been being more frugal and heavy cream costs have gotten to be crazy (like everything else) so I have been making almost all ice creams without it. You would be surprised how often it doesn't change the taste or the texture.

I left cloves out because all I had was whole cloves and I was too lazy to grind them, but you could add 1 teaspoon of cloves to it.

I added graham crackers at the end as a stir-in or topping to give it some crunchy'ness

i drizzled sweetened condensed milk on it at the end instead of using cool whip. I mentioned in the video how to make home made cool whip which tastes way better than store bought and that recipe is:
1 cup heavy cream
1-4 tablespoons vanilla extract
optional 1-4 tablespoons sugar (i usually leave it out)

Beat heavy cream with a wire whisk or mixer until soft peaks form - it takes several minutes and is faster if the cream is at room temperature. Once soft peaks form, add vanilla and optional sugar if you wish. Beat an additional few minutes until hard peaks form or its the consistency you like. Refrigerate and use within a day or 3

youve never seen this muscadine recipe before #muscadine #recipe #original #icecream #creami #churn

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-11-01 | I make up a lot of the recipes i post to YouTube. They often are the results of finding creative ways to use up excess harvests on my homestead. This is no different, after making plenty of muscadine jelly, muscadine pie, muscadine cobbler, muscadine juice, muscadine syrup .... i decided to try something different and wing this recipe i am making up as i go along. I promise if you love muscadine, you will love this original recipe because my search turned up nothing even close to it. Give it a try and let me know what you think. You can make this chocolate muscadine grape ice cream in a ninja creami or a churn style ice cream maker with very little modifications to the steps.

Immersion blender I use (highly recommended): amzn.to/3MrPHCR
Chocolate protein I use (you can get it at walmart too): amzn.to/40nstDW
ninja creami: amzn.to/3MrnBYB
additional creami pints (I use both brands): amzn.to/3SnFpaz or amzn.to/49jTts0
churn style ice cream maker (if you don't have creami or kitchen aid - my mom has this one): amzn.to/45VyAjJ
kitchen aid churn style ice cream attachment (if you have a kitchen aid mixer): amzn.to/3FEuC4v
ice cream storage containers for churn style makers: amzn.to/47dDUjx

what the f ... Halloween night on homestead

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-31 | something is going on ....

sharing some old-timer knowledge about winter weather outlook #black #walnut #winter #weather

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-30 | Sharing a story about a man, Layton Doyle, i highly respected when i was younger who had these little sayings he would tell me to teach me about life, except at the time, i thought i knew everything already. But later in life, i realized so much he told me was true so figured i would share my winter prediction based on a saying he related to me over several years that stuck.

The easily worked, close-grained wood of the black walnut has long been prized by furniture- and cabinetmakers for its attractive color and exceptional durability. Its logs are in such demand for veneer that “walnut rustlers” have made off with trees in the dead of night and even used helicopters in their operations.

The early settlers discovered black walnuts growing in mixed forests from Canada to northern Florida and west to the Great Plains. They found that its rich-brown heartwood was exceptionally resistant to decay and used it as fence posts, poles, shingles, and sills.

When surrounded by other trees in the forest, black walnuts grow straight and tall with few, if any, lower branches. When planted in the open, the tree will branch out closer to the ground, developing a spreading shape that makes it easier to harvest its sweet, round, two- to three-inch nuts.

Settlers snacked on the nutritious walnuts out of hand, added them to soups and stews, and ground them into a meal for baking; the hard shells provided a perfect package for storing the nuts over winter.

Although the black walnut has many uses and benefits, the tree does come with a caveat: the black walnut’s roots, which may extend 50 feet or more from the trunk, exude a natural herbicide known as juglone. This substance is also found in the tree’s leaves and fruit husks.

A tincture is often made from the husks and leaves or sometimes a powder. This tincture or powder often offers some medicinal uses as used by native Americans and many homesteaders today, mostly for treating gastrointestinal issues (stomach bug, bloating, diarrhea, constipation). It also has some other proven and unproven uses.

The husks can also be used to make a dye for clothing or other projects.

Free food is free food, the nuts taste awesome but not like English walnuts, a more earthy flavor.

homemade bread fresher longer tips & tricks #homemade #bread #breadmaker #tips #tricks #fresher

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-28 | I started making my own bread every week in 2013. I bought the cheapest bread maker walmart sold for like $29 way back then....it might have been the only breadmaker they sold locally. I have made hundreds of loaves of bread in it and believe it or not, its the same bread maker I bought way back then. Knock on wood, it has never broke down, I've never lost the paddle or even the instruction booklet. I also sometimes will make bread in an oven, usually specialty breads that can't be made in a bread maker. The bread maker saves me time and time is everything on a homestead. Some breads simply can't be made in a bread maker like salt-risen bread (tastes like mozzarella cheese even though it doesn't have cheese in it). I post my own bread recipes often on my instagram and personal facebook accounts. One of those recipes everybody loved and it was my go-to bread I made almost every week. Some weeks I would make bread and also hamburger buns or even hotdog buns although I seldom eat hamburgers or hotdogs anymore. The bread maker saves me time in mixing, kneading, rising, etc and that is time I can be doing other things more urgent.

One of the biggest complaints people make about homemade bread is that it doesn't store as long as store bought bread. That is somewhat true because it doesn't have all of those preservatives in it that keeps it fresh in a plastic bag for weeks. You can get homemade bread to last an entire week though and that is suitable for most people and families. First you have to get rid of the idea that homemade bread needs to be stored in a plastic bag like store bought bread. That is the worse thing you can do in my opinion. It causes homemade bread to mold quickly by trapping the moisture in. Homemade bread is simply kept fresh by allowing it to breath naturally. The crust also protects it. So in this video, I show you how I store my bread. The bread in this video is 5 days old. Its the first bread I have been able to eat post-cancer that doesn't cause me to almost die from choking to death. I am doing an upcoming video on this bread too because I believe it will help others who have had mouth, throat type cancers or who have saliva glands destroyed. I was able to eat 5 day old bread without water ... that's a feat in itself and its also one of my own recipes.

The bread maker I have had for over 10 years now that has made hundreds of loaves: amzn.to/3PS8nfU

I totally messed up this white chili recipe or maybe not #white #chili #recipe #oops

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-25 | I was craving white chili and since i had everything needed, got everything out to thaw/defrost the day before except i inadvertently grabbed hamburger instead of chicken. White chili is made with chicken, i know that. I even have a video on making it here: youtube.com/watch?v=66VEYQQInFY

Chili is made with hamburger and i know that. However, sometimes my brain confuses things post cancer and this is one of those times. But i am rolling with the mistake because so many of my recipes people love came from mistakes and i think this one is no different. This turned out awesome and i give some tips on how i might change it next time so it's even better for my ideas mentioned.

This is the approx recipe I used, since I doubled everything you could reduce it by 1/2:
2lbs ground beef
3/4 cup black beans dry (soaked in water 4 hours) or 15oz can black beans
3/4 cup chickpeas dry (soaked in water 4 hours) or 15oz can of chickpeas
1 packet lipton onion soup mix (I only used 1 which is what the regular recipe calls for)
2 x 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 x 15 oz cans southern corn (its basically just corn with chile peppers in it)
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumen
1 packet ranch dressing mix (I only used 1 which is what the regular recipe calls for)
2 x 8 oz cream cheese
fiesta cheese (to top with)

Combine everything except fiesta cheese in instantpot. Set high pressure 35 minute timer. Let go through 15 minute natural release. Serve topped with fiesta cheese

beekeeping providing water seedling trays more info #beekeeping #water #seedtray #trick

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-21 | I posted a video on how i keep bees hydrated on my property. The method i use is cheap, economical, and lasts a very long time. You only need to add water occasionally when it doesn't rain and let weeds grow to provide nutrients. For some reason i have yet to understand, it also reduces robbing to basically nothing in my bee yard.

A few people have asked what I use and this is it. I have about 20 of these sitting around my property at various locations:
These are the trays I use: amzn.to/3qYRA2s
These are the inserts for the trays: amzn.to/47Wgtwr

I fill the trays about 1/2 full of garden soil ... and then whatever seeds are in those, grow into weeds and I just let them grow.

harvesting sunflower seeds for next year #harvest #sunflower #seed #seedtoseed

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-18 | Every year i plant thousands of sunflowers. I started with one of those "sunflower seeds mixes" years ago and i harvest the seeds from them plants every year. This is commonly known as seed to seed gardening. This is one of those "buy once cry once" things that are actually good because sunflowers produce a lot of seeds. You never have to buy sunflower seeds again unless you are simply going for a specific or new variety. I mention that because in 2022 i did buy 4 or 5 new varieties of sunflowers (the dark purple, dark reds, and even black ones). But if you just want a lot of various sunflowers, get a mix and just harvest the seeds each year. Its really easy to do and is very frugal. You can also do the exact same thing with most vegetables and some fruits, like pawpaw you only need 1 pawpaw fruit and you will have 5 or more seeds from it you can plant. Some fruits do not came back as the fruit you harvested the seed from, but thats a much longer discussion about pollination. Almost all flower, fruit, and vegetable seeds you harvest will need the seeds stratified which simulates winter before they will sprout and grow again. You do this by placing them in the refrigerator (Some use freezer) and exceeding their "chill" hours which could takes several weeks.

Homestead shopping in fall be like #shorts #pawpaw #elderberry #muscadine #sunflower #blackberry

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-16 | Fall is my favorite time of year

The previous week was pawpaws and elderberries

This week is muscadines, sunflower heads for seeds next year, and blackberries

Soon will be cutting back asparagus and adding a layer of mulch for winter

growing fall sunflowers and fall honey flow

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-14 | Every year i try to grow both a summer and fall sunflower mix. Sunflowers provide a lot of pollen and nectar for many pollinators such as bees, butterflies, hummingbirds. Many people don't realize you can plant sunflowers multiple times throughout the year and basically have a may-june through October into November sometimes of blooms. Another great benefit of growing sunflowers is that they have deep roots so they bring a lot of nutrients from deep in the soil to the surface. The vegetation also serves as a great compost which can be tilled under. Finally sunflowers are easy to grow and also easy to harvest seeds to reuse for next years plantings. One other benefit they provide is they crowd out other plants and weeds. So i will often plant them in beds no longer needed as the plants in them are harvested.

So the northern kentucky fall honey flow, I have mentioned before, its success is based on 2 events happening in just the right proportions ... we need blooms to happen and we need rain. Its been pretty dry so far this fall but even with just a little bit of rain you will notice a lot more activity at the front of the hives ... in this video it had just rained lightly overnight and the bees are frantically zipping in and out of the hives to collect pollen and whatever nectar is flowing. If you are a beekeeper, you will often be amazed at how quickly bees can fill up a honey super in the spring. In the fall, its not usually that quickly and sometimes not at all. You just never know but you have to keep an eye on those hives and be prepared to add more honey supers when needed, to feed sugar syrup if they are getting low, you just never know what you will need to do in the fall year to year.

my easy peasy no pectin muscadine jelly method #muscadine #grape #jelly #jam #easypeasy

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-11 | I really love muscadine jelly. Its sweet yet tart and super easy peasy to make if you use my method that doesn't require pectin. Its great on toast, bread, pancakes, ice cream, donuts, etc. The hardest part for most people is removing the seeds which can take hours and you can skip that part entirely using my method. You see, the seeds have medicinal purposes along with the skins (you can do your own research). The skins also contain all of the flavor. So knowing this, i came up with a way to not have noticeable skin or seeds. My method also doesn't require pectin. I originally recorded this in 2020 while in chemo and radiation so there was no sound since i couldn't talk very well. I added the new ending in 2023 so i could still use the footage. Enjoy & God bless!

October homemade healthy chocolate elderberry ice cream #churn #ninja #creami #icecream #elderberry

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-07 | i make all different kinds of ice cream and they often incorporate whatever is in season so fall means elderberry. I also work out a lot. I mean the entire reason i homestead is for a healthier lifestyle so that means i also know how to make ice cream healthy. I recently ate 1 pint of ice cream every day for 3 months and never even gained 1 lb. Anyways, this is a recipe i made up that combines elderberry with chocolate for the base and then uses elderberry as a topping. Its heavenly and a great use of excess harvest.

Depending on the ingredients you use because I offer several substitutions in this recipe, your healthy ice cream will contain somewhere around: 524 calories consisting of 4.5 grams fat, 60 grams carbs, 54 grams protein per serving

If you don't use the healthier options, your ice cream could contain around 1200 calories consisting of 52 grams of fat, 112 grams of carbs, and 64 grams of protein

elderberry jam from steam juicer juice easy peasy #elderberry #jam #steam #juicer #steamjuicer

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-07 | Making jams and jellys is super easy and way healthier than store bought jams and jellys. On the homestead, I have around 70 fruit trees and multiple types of berries. Making jams and jellys is one of my favorite things to do for the excess harvests. These can be eaten yourself, shared with friends, family, and neighbors, and they make great gift ideas. I like to use the 4 oz canning jars for gifts and sharing and the 8oz pint jars for my own use. Once you learn how to make 1 type of jam or jelly, you will quickly learn the recipes are almost identical to all jams and jellys so its also a great skill to learn since the process carries over to all jams and jellies.

pre-cancer days i made elderberry jam using the entire berries. That method almost always has bits of seeds and stems that caused no problem after processed. Post-cancer though and having to have all my teeth pulled and dentures, those bits of seeds and stems bother my dentures and get stuck between dentures and gums or the roof of my mouth. Something so tiny can cause so much pain lol. So i started using a different method to can elderberry where i extract the juice using a steam juicer and then process it.

I have a video on using the steam juicer. youtube.com/watch?v=9EUzDzEhJUg

I also have a video on the traditional method here which uses the pulp and may contain pieces of seeds and stems: youtube.com/watch?v=eMtHvMftWQk

You can use either method because they taste the same (although I have to admit, I kinda like the other method slightly more but my mouth won't co-operate lol).

One thing to note, elderberry sometimes requires pectin and sometimes it doesn't. Its hit or miss over the years so i simply use pectin all the time with elderberry because there is nothing more aggravating than going through all the time to make jam that doesn't gel so you have to process it again to add the pectin.

If you don't have powdered pectin, you can simply core 1-2 Apples, cut them into slices, and add the slices to the juice while boiling then discard the Apple when filling jars (i know some people who simply puree the apple in a blender and just leave it in). If you don't have apples, you can also use chia seeds, cornstarch, gelatin mix, jello mix, tapioca, or citrus pith (chopped citrus peels). The amount required varies so just google whatever you have like "how much whatever as substitute for pectin"

Also, I have another original recipe for a diy healthy chocolate elderberry ice cream video coming up so don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss it or check the uploaded videos to find it if its already uploaded.

Once you have the jam made, you can use it on sandwiches, add to greek yogurt, add to ice cream bases or as a topping, use it on pancakes .... there are so many different ways and it keeps for a couple of years.

my favorite fruit pawpaw #pawpaw #fruit #tree #tropical #america

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-04 | In 2015, i planted 5 varieties of pawpaw trees from root stock i got from sharpbros because it is my all-time favorite fruit. Many people have never had it because it doesn't store well on shelves in stores but if you are from eastern United States, you may very well go searching for this fruit every fall. When people ask me what its like, i tell them it has the consistency of custard but tastes like what you would expect if a mango and banana had a baby that somehow got smothered in honey. Between 2015 and 2020 when I got cancer, I planted around 70 fruit trees, several varieties of nuts, and I lost count of how many berries on my homestead. I always look forward to just walking out my door to harvest pawpaws ... because I used to have to go hunting for hours and miles years ago. Pawpaws are best the moment they fall to the ground. Once they hit the ground they won't last very long because every animal and insect will consume them quickly. If you eat pawpaws that aren't ripe, they are not as sweet. Once I collect them, I bring them inside and place them on the counter top another 24-48 hours until squeezing the skin feels very soft. It should be mushy when they are cut open.

Post MAF training & having trouble hitting zone 5 uphill intervals #maf #running #training #interval

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-10-03 | HELP! I have been heart rate training for 10 years or so, maybe closer to 11. Polar flow has this thing called relive and I used to love watching these after long 300+ mile hikes to help me remember sections. Anywho, I have been back to training for a few months now and around 11-12 weeks of maf training. Long story short, I am not a runner but I used to love running when I was younger. Since I haven't been able to gain weight post chemo and radiation no matter what my diet consists of or no matter how much I lift weights, I decided to get back into running (cause honestly weight lifting was getting boring since I'm not really seeing the gains I would expect post-cancer). Well, last year I ran for about 6 months and I got where I could do intervals but not run distance longer than about 400 meters. The problem was, my heart rate would max out and stay there. This problem came from years of "go big or go home" cardio training where I would literally spend most of my time in zone 4 or zone 5 and sometimes that could be up to an hour in each zone. I laughed at "don't spend more than a few minutes in zone 5 or it will cause medical issues" but I could go forever in zone 5 no problem (and my instagram account has numerous pictures of doing a zone 1-5 split where I would spend 15 minutes in each zone from start to finish and I did this 4-6 days a week). The problem with exclusive zone 4 and zone 5 training is .... great for short periods of time, i.e. 15 minutes but not great if you are running and need to do that for say an hour. You simply wear yourself out trying to run distance or long time. So I spent a lot of time researching how to fix this and ran across the entire "run slower to run faster" thing taking over the world or also known as "zone 2 training" or maybe known as "maf training" or maybe known as "maffetone training ... i think". Anyways, I set out to do just that starting end of June first week of July approx and have been doing it ever since. I went from struggling to run longer than say 400 meters to now able to run 4 miles no problem. Except, I have lost my upper end ... i really struggle now even to hit zone 5 .... even zone 4 although is easier to get to, keeping it there is a struggle. MAF training is all about training in low heart rate zones which then builds up mitochondria and makes your body more efficient at using oxygen theoretically so you can run further slower or at a more controlled heart rate. I absolutely can tell you, I have no problems now keeping my heart rate in zone 1, zone 2, zone 3 but although I can get to zone 4 its a struggle to maintain it like I used to and hitting zone 5 is almost impossible now. I just can't seem to exert myself enough to get there. Any runners have any ideas or suggestions? I am integrating more longer uphill intervals into my training to help me get there and keep my heart rate in zone 4 or 5 but I don't really have any other ideas.

two foods still difficult to eat 3 years post chemo radiation #mycancerstory #cancer #foods

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-30 | There are 2 foods that are still difficult to eat 3 years post chemo and radiation treatments for squamous cell carcinoma (fancy name for cancer) which was located in my tonsils and throat. Those 2 foods are any type of bread and also creamy or chunky peanut butter (something weird, powdered peanut butter seems to be ok for recipes but something like peanut butter and jelly ... forget it). I found another food since this was recorded, "turtle fudge brownies or salted caramel brownies"

So prior to getting cancer, i made this bread every single week in the breadmaker. I've made it for years. Its my own recipe and I've shared this recipe on various social media websites and those that have tried it also say its one of the best breadmachine bread recipes. I may have even uploaded it on youtube (i know I have shared this on facebook and I thought i uploaded it on youtube but can't find it ... so I will record it next time I make it)

But the radiation treatments basically destroyed my saliva glands. You don't realize how important saliva is until your saliva glands don't work. Saliva keeps the eating process lubricated. It keeps food from sticking to your teeth, the top of your mouth, your gums, your tonsils, and your throat. Without saliva, food sticks everywhere ... and the wetter the food aka peanut butter, the stickier it is. Easiest way for me to explain it, place 10 dry cotton balls in your mouth and try to eat a simple sandwich. If the cotton balls get saturated with saliva, you have to replace them with 10 more dry cotton balls. There are actually a lot of foods that are hard to eat today but most of them can be eaten with plenty of water. Bread and peanut butter are not in that group.

So yea, bread and peanut butter, two of my favorite foods, i hardly ever eat now. I know i skipped making bread and peanut butter sandwiches the last 2 or 3 times i made chili because its too difficult to eat (even dipped in chili). Don't hate, i used to eat almost all soups with a peanut butter sandwich dipped in them. Try it!

When i made this short video, i had actually forgotten how hard it was to eat peanut butter for the same reason until i had them together.

no sticking over easy eggs cast iron pan once & for all #castironcooking #nosticking #eggs #overeasy

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-28 | I did a video a couple years ago about cooking eggs in cast iron. When I got cancer, my future was uncertain and I was going to just "brain dump" as much information as I could to help others. Well, I beat cancer and the people I tried to help just question everything and doubt my method. Its annoying! Why do people constantly have to dispute everything? I've used this method for years and years and years. I only own cast iron pans, you would think because of that and because I cook 3 meals a day on them I would know how to use them.

I know someone is going to question the amount of extra virgin olive oil so let me explain that - extra virgin olive oil is one of the most caloric dense foods you can eat, 1 tablespoon is about 120 calories of healthy fats. When I do long distance hiking, I take a bottle of olive oil with me. I drink it like "shots" for quick calorie replacement. Since I eat 5-6 eggs every morning (for 13 years now) for the protein content, I use more olive oil than required for the calories to balance it out. But the process in this video works if you use less oil. If you are a fitness freak, which is why I do homesteading to begin with, then this makes sense. Don't question the amount of oil or my blood pressure or cholesterol, because its posted on my other social media sites ... my blood pressure runs consistently around 103/60, a resting heart rate of 38 - 41, no high cholesterol, and my v02 max is usually 51 - 55.....not bad for a 969 year old vampire. Don't make me bite you!

You can see the original video here ... and just read the comments. Original video: youtube.com/watch?v=zJvLsJMaBKg

honey bees drinking water part 2

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-27 | more honey bees drinking water

A few people have asked what I use and this is it. I have about 20 of these sitting around my property at various locations:
These are the trays I use: amzn.to/3qYRA2s
These are the inserts for the trays: amzn.to/47Wgtwr

I fill the trays about 1/2 full of garden soil ... and then whatever seeds are in those, grow into weeds and I just let them grow.

keeping bee smoker lit correction #bee #smoker #tipsandtricks #tips

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-23 | I did the previous how to keep a bee smoker lit when i was going through chemo and radiation treatments for cancer and forgot a step. A friend of mine on social media texted me and said they were still having troubles even though they did everything i did. I went back and watched that video and realized I forgot a step (likely due to the memory issues during cancer treatment and recovery aka which not only causes memory issues like forgetting things but also causes you to say the wrong things or use the wrong words). So this is my saving grace correction video. I will link to the previous video because it does have helpful information too.

trick i use year round for water in bee yard #bee #yard #water #trick

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-20 | I have these seedling trays all around my property filled about 1/2 full of soil and weeds growing in them. You don't want the weeds to grow too thick. People always ask if I'm intentionally growing weeds or sometimes they just ask what I'm growing but everything on the homestead has a purpose and when you are a sigma male, sometimes you are the only person who gets why. Anyways, I've used this trick around the bee yard for years to provide water for the bees and since I've not seen anyone else mention this, figured i would share. The bees really appreciate the water on these hot 100+ degree august days and even though I live just a few hundred feet from a lake, its less distance for them to fly to get to the water. The weeds that I allow to grow keep them from drowning.

A few people have asked what I use and this is it. I have about 20 of these sitting around my property at various locations:
These are the trays I use: amzn.to/3qYRA2s
These are the inserts for the trays: amzn.to/47Wgtwr

I fill the trays about 1/2 full of garden soil ... and then whatever seeds are in those, grow into weeds and I just let them grow.

honeysuckle vs autumn olives toxic vs edible

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-16 | Here is how to tell the difference between toxic or poisonous honeysuckle and edible autumn olives. These are often easily mistaken because they look similar, grow in the same areas (as this video shows often side by side), and fruit at the same time usually around august into September and sometimes even early october. Autumn Olives have a tart but sweet taste like a subdued lemonheads candy whereas honeysuckle berries are toxic. I often see these 2 plants misidentified online and some day i hope to have enough confidence as the people asking people they don't even know to identify edible plants.

Always be sure of any wild plants you consume or use for medicinal purposes or it could very well be your last. Always eat wild edibles in moderation.

Autumn olive berries are high in vitamins A, C, and E, as well as lesser amounts of minerals such as phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. They also contain iron as well as essential fatty acids and bioflavonoids. They are rich in ascorbic acid and have seventeen times the lycopene as ripe tomatoes. The flowers are used as a cardiac tonic for heart health and are astringent and stimulating. The seeds are used as a stimulant in the treatment of coughs. and the oil from the seeds is used to treat afflictions of the lungs. Autumn olive is currently being studied as a food capable of reducing the incidence of several cancers such as prostate, cervix, gastrointestinal tract, and possibly ovarian. This superfood is also being studied as a means of halting or reversing the growth of cancers. The fruit and seeds are edible and can be used in jam, jellies, and preserves as well as eaten raw. The leaves can be used in tea. Once you’ve acquired some autumn berries, they can be eaten fresh, pureed, frozen, made into jam or sauces, fermented into wine … just about any way you can imagine. The berries can be dried and stored to use in fruity herbal teas. The flowers can also be used in herbal teas along with the leaves.

I mentioned making jam or jelly out of autumn olive. There are all kinds of recipes online for autumn olives, cookies, tarts, jams, jellies, fruit leather, etc ... but here is one of my favorites:

You will need:
8 cups ripe autumn olives
3 cups water
fresh apple juice or 1-2 apples sliced or 1 pkg fruit pectin
1-1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
2 cups sugar

Add autumn olives to a pan with 3 cups water, apple juice/slices and bring to a boil while squashing with a potato masher or similar (if you are using pectin instead of apples, wait to add it). Let simmer about 15 minutes while stirring. Run through a food mill to remove seeds but retain moisture and pulp. When done you should have about 4 cups fruit/water/pulp left. If less, add a little water.
Add pulp/juice back into the pot, add the lemon juice, add the sugar (everything added except the pectin). Simmer until it starts to boil - if not using pectin it takes about 15-20 minutes. If using pectin, add the pectin. Bring to 220 degrees. Use the spoon test by placing a few drops of liquid on a plate or spoon, stick the plate/spoon in the freezer for a few minutes and if it jelled you are ready to add to jars and seal. Autumn Olive jam sets up as it cools so work quickly.

#eatwhatnatureprovides
#growwhatyoueat

mongoose ledge x2 mtb rough driveway test #mongoose #ledge #x2 #mtb

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-13 | I think I hit a top speed around 33 mph on one of the roughest sections of the driveway. The driveway is pretty rough, it basically follows a ridge line on eastern kentucky that flows along several hill tops. That means, there are a lot of ups and downs and it washes out often when it rains so there are ruts to deal with, etc. I've been using the driveway as a quick cross-trainer workout to my runs and sometimes I use a mongoose grit gravel bike for longer rides. Its great exercise for sure.

#august #steam #juicer, #elderberry, #blackberry, #grapes, #bee stuff on #homestead #steamjuicer

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-09 | August is such a crazy month on the homestead. I'm usually staying busy in the bee yard with varroa mite counts and treatments when needed (I only treat above 2% and seldom are my hives above 2% mite load), elderberry is usually ready for harvest around the 15th, fall blackberries are usually starting to ripen shortly after elderberries, then more bee stuff and i noticed today muscadine grapes are starting to change colors so it won't be long for them too (usually end of Sept first of Oct). Then i finally get a break after the holidays until well .... if next year is like this year it all starts again in February.

So the beginning I was using a steam juicer to harvest elderberry juice which I then turn into elderberry syrup or elderberry jam or elderberry ice cream. I linked to a video on how I make elderberry jam. The steam juicer makes harvesting fruits easy peasy so I will give you an affiliate link to amazon in case you want one. I have used several different ones over the years but this stainless steel one is the one I use most of the time now: amzn.to/44hmdxx

Steam juicers are great for making juice from any type of fruit, berry, and even foraged wild edibles. They can also be used as a way to make use of fruits that you couldn't normally eat, i.e. peaches that the ants got or apples with surface defects. I'm just saying, steam juicers allow you to make the most of whatever you have, safely and every homestead should have one.

Then a few blackberry tasks and I linked to several other blackberry videos I have done.

Then bee updates with randy olivers oxalic acid slow release sponge method. This is the 2nd year I have used it but I only use it on hives with lower mite counts. I found a way that is somewhat unique for placement of the sponges that really works out well in my apiary and its a way I haven't seen anyone else mention so that's the reason for it.

kentucky beekeeping tips when is fall honey flow?

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-06 | A friend who is also a new beekeeper (first year) asked me when does Kentucky fall honey flow start followed by how do i know when it's a honey flow .... so while doing hive inspections today, i answer those questions.

bee killers on the homestead

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-04 | In this video i show you two different bee killers found on the homestead. I also go more in-depth on the bee watering system i use.

Septembers Ice Cream Of The Month: Mint Chocolate Cookies-n-cream #homemade #icecream #kitchenaid

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-09-01 | The monthly homemade ice cream of the month for September is mint chocolate cookies-n-cream ice cream made in a kitchenaid ice cream attachment. Mint-chocolate is a good fit for pre-fall as the nights are generally starting to cool down but not as cool as fall nights so too early for things like pumpkin or peppermint. You can also make the base recipe for use in any ice cream maker and even the ninja creami ... with a few modifications to when you add the add-on cookies, and also whether you freeze the base entirely or just cool it down to churn. This is one of my favorite recipes and its pretty easy to make. Home-made ice cream tastes way better than store bought ice cream and I use it as a treat after a long day of working around the homestead. Home-made ice cream does not always cost cheaper to make it yourself, which is actually a lot of things on homesteads, but the quality is way better and the taste is amazing. Ice cream is so easy to make, I am honestly surprised more people don't do it.

velvet leaf identification and uses #velvet #leaf #garden #survival #edible #cordage #toiletpaper

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-08-30 | velvet leaf, Abutilon theophrasti, was imported from Asian countries in 1825 as a way to make cordage and ropes by the military. Its not natural in the United States but it pretty much grows everywhere now. It does have some good uses but sadly also has some bad traits. It likes to pop up every year anywhere there is disturbed soil such as gardens or construction areas because a single plant can have thousands of seeds that remain viable for up to 50 years underground. As soon as those seeds get moved closer to the ground surface, they emerge and repeat their growth cycle. So now we have the bad out of the way, let's look at some of the positives. It gets its name from the velvety leaves and because of that, it makes a great toilet paper .... many would say even better than Charmin. The unripe seeds are edible raw and there are many of them. The ripe seeds can be ground and made into flour after removing the tannins (tannic acid) which make them bitter. The seeds contain 15-30% oil and young seeds supposedly taste like sunflowers whereas ripe seeds after removing tannins are usually referred to as no taste or bland. In China, they use the fibers of the stalks to this day for rope making and net making. Its very easy to make cordage from this plant using a reverse twist method. Its one of my favorites for bowdrill, shelters, and nets since its considered a medium strength rope and the stalks grow very long (over 4 feet) and straight and the fibers are easy to remove and process. To use it to make rope or cordage, simply pull the plant, I usually remove the side branches using a knife, break the stalk near the root, and the outer fibers will easily pull straight up the stalk. Once you have the strips off the stalk, you will need to remove the harder green covering in whatever method you prefer (scraping with a knife, rock, etc) which will then leave you with better fibers to work with. Velvet leaf is not considered as strong as cotton or hemp but is better than other grasses at making cordage. Various parts of velvet leaf also has medicinal uses for dysentery, fevers, ulcers, urinary incontinence, inflammation, swelling, cataracts, and heals cuts and bruises

honey bee drinking water #honey #bee #drinking #water #shorts

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-08-26 | honey bee drinking water

A few people have asked what I use and this is it. I have about 20 of these sitting around my property at various locations:
These are the trays I use: amzn.to/3qYRA2s
These are the inserts for the trays: amzn.to/47Wgtwr

I fill the trays about 1/2 full of garden soil ... and then whatever seeds are in those, grow into weeds and I just let them grow.

First Quick Ride: Mongoose Grit Gravel Bike #mongoose #grit #gravelbike #firstride #firstridereview

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-08-26 | wanted to take a quick ride on the mongoose grit gravel bike to see how well it performed on my rough gravel driveway. If you know anything about eastern Kentucky, everywhere is like a roller coaster in Appalachia. The bike performed well, most issues were operator error since I've never had a bike with micro shifters. Also, in order to mount my go pro to the handlebars i had to remove the rubber washer that dampens sound and vibration so every single rock, sound, etc was amplified through the forks and into the handlebars and into the go-pro. I will attempt to fix that if i do future videos. All the extra noise you hear in the video i couldn't hear while riding. Also, when i got to the asphalt part of the road and turned around, most noise went away which is why i suspect go pro mount as the cause. The only real negative about the ride is probably due to my post-chemo/radiation body shape. I lost a lot of weight (50+ lbs) during cancer treatment and the seat was a little rough for my skin and bones body. No real complaints from me though. Can't wait to do longer rides when I'm better used to the bike.

August always means its elderberry harvest time #elderberry #harvest #august #jam

Sharp Ridge Homestead 2023-08-23 | One of my favorites is elderberry jam on greek yogurt. I honestly eat it like 3x a week. Elderberry jam is very simple to make and I will link to that video. I started making this video to show viewers the different stages of elderberry growth and how to plant elderberry from cuttings but .... time, there just aren't enough hours in the day. So instead, we will do a shorter video and maybe I can get to the full version next year.