Innehållsförteckning för September - October 2025 från Hobby Farms

Whether you’re a health nut or an avid cook or just looking to keep vampires away, garlic should be your go-to. Some of the chemical compounds garlic contains naturally help to enhance our immunity to viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens, and, when you grow your own garlic, you can take actions to boost the amount of these beneficial compounds. Growing your own also provides you with more options in terms of flavor profiles, longterm storage potential and access to fresh garlic and garlic scapes. Now, if you’ve never grown garlic before or you’ve only had so-so luck with it in the past, keep in mind that your success largely depends on matching the right garlic type with your specific climate and growing conditions. “It’s all about where you live, what…

For nearly a decade, I’ve been teaching people how to preserve food. Though I teach all methods of food preservation, I’m most passionate about water bath canning and fermentation. Over the years, I tend to receive the same questions from students and hear similar stories. I’ve learned that beginners feel debilitated by the amount of information there is out there, and they don’t know where to start (so they don’t). At nearly every class someone tells me they haven’t tried preserving in fear of doing it improperly and “poisoning the family.” Many of my students take my class because they have memories of their great-grandparents or grandparents preserving big batches of kraut or pickles in huge crocks in the cellar. Sadly, those skills were never passed down, and now they…

Not all little goats are Pygmy Goats! Pygmy Goats are a specific breed derived from the Cameroon or West African Dwarf Goat. The first Pygmy Goats were brought to the United States in 1959 for use in petting zoos. The Pygmy is hardy, alert and animated, good-natured and gregarious; a docile, responsive pet; a cooperative provider of milk; and an ecologically effective browser. Pygmy Goats are assets in a wide variety of settings and can adapt to virtually all climates. They are ideal personal livestock suited to today’s smaller homestead. Pygmies are precocious breeders, with the potential of bearing one to four young every 9 to 12 months after a 5-month gestation period. The Breed Standard describes the Pygmy Goat as being genetically small, cobby and compact. Full-barreled and well-muscled,…

If celeriac hasn’t yet found its way into your garden plot, you’re missing some good stuff. This surprisingly tasty bulbous root can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked and used in soups and stews. Celeriac, also called celery root, might not be very pretty, but it sure is tasty. Beneath its gnarled and knobby skin, the flesh of celeriac is pure white, meaty, and oh so delicious. It’s a staple of my kitchen during the winter months, when so little fresh garden produce makes it to our table. Celeriac requires a very long growing season, upwards of 110 to 120 days from sowing. Seeds are planted indoors, under lights, in late winter and the transplants are nestled into the garden just after the danger of frost has passed. It…

While financial gain may be the top reason property owners seek to manage timber on their property, creating a wildlife habitat is also near the top of the list. Michael Gass, a forester with Cardin Forest Products in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, dives into woodlot management, and its many advantages, for the small property owner. Reasons to Manage Depending on the acreage, the timber industry can be lucrative. However, there are other reasons to manage timber than financial gain. “On a small farm, a lot of people will manage it to add pasture [to their farms] but also leave shade for their horses and cattle,” Gass says. Leaving some trees in place after harvesting allows the animals pastured there to have shelter from the weather. As a forester, Gass has also…

I was first drawn to no-dig gardening for one simple reason: It’s easy! And while the practices may seem like lazy gardening, there’s meaningful science behind what we don’t do in a no-till garden. And when I saw with my own eyes the results touted by so many books and research papers, I became hooked. I love talking and sharing about no-dig gardening because it helps us shift our thoughts from how we garden to how nature grows best. And so far, taking cues from nature has always proved the right decision. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NO-DIG In many ways no-dig simply means building the soil up instead of digging down. We want to leave the soil microbes and all their infinitely webbed relationships intact. So the less digging we…

Most of the food we consume contains extracts of some kind for extra flavor. Extraction is the process of drawing out the essence and flavor from a fruit, herb, flower or vegetable over time. Extracts can be used to enhance and flavor drinks, simple syrups, baked goods, icings, ice creams, sauces and soups. Entrepreneur Annie Hartwig went on a girls’ shopping trip 10 years ago and came home with authentic vanilla extract. After noticing what a difference the flavor made in her baking, she was on a mission to recreate it. Fast forward to today, she runs Annie’s Extracts with more than 40 different food and beverage extract flavors servicing restaurants, liquor stores, donut shops and personal clients from her website (www.extractsbyannie.com) and Etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/extractsbyannie). She makes her extracts…

A heritage breed that originated in the late 1700s from A the South Downs of Sussex County, England, Babydoll Southdown Sheep were imported to the United States in the early 1800s. Over the years, they grew in popularity in England and America, thanks to their cute faces, small size, sweet temperament and hardiness, with a lifespan of 12 to 16 years. Typically, you’ll often see lambs available in white or black. As the black Babydoll sheep grow, they may appear browner, as the sun can lighten their coloring. Babydoll sheep offer organic grass and weed control, and with their small size, they’re much easier to handle than many other farm animals. Nitrogen-rich Babydoll pellets don’t create brown patches in the grass, either. This breed makes great family sheep, especially if…

When it comes to disasters and preparation, psychologically it might be good to consider the quote from Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900): “To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.” From the strings of tornadoes that routinely ravage the Midwest and South to the recurring and intensifying cycle of wildfires and flooding along the Pacific Coast, disasters can strike at any time and have devastating consequences for humans and animals alike. Local officials and disaster preparedness groups often advise to have evacuation plans and provide lists of supplies that everyone should have on hand. However, these measures rarely take animals into account and almost never consider poultry. Whether our chickens are kept as companions, sustainable food sources or a combination of the two, keeping our feathered friends…

If the weeds got ahead of you this growing season, act now to help control unwanted weed growth in next year’s garden. Use these fall weed-control tips to limit future weeds. 1. NO SEEDS ALLOWED If you have weeds that have flowered and gone to seed, but have yet to drop those seeds, now is the time to head out to the garden and remove the seed heads. Use a pair of pruners to cut off weed seed heads and drop them into a plastic garbage bag for disposal or burning. Don’t throw them into the compost pile where they could exacerbate your weed problem if the pile doesn’t heat to a high enough temperature to kill them. Decreasing the weed seed bank in this way is one of the…

KEEP’EM COMING Upload the very best digital images of your small-farm livestock to HobbyFarms.com/say_cheese or email them directly to hobbyfarms@hobbyfarms.com, with “Say Cheese!” in the subject line. Include your name and address in the body of the email. We hope to see your photos in an upcoming issue and on our Instagram account (@hobbyfarmsmag)!…

There is nothing like the wafting aroma of home-made, fresh-baked bread. Whether in the form of a bread loaf, sweet rolls, dinner rolls or sour-dough, homemade bread that has that light and airy texture matched with a bronze crust and full, uniform shape is a pinnacle of baking perfection. It’s sought after and longed for and yet, for many, such perfection lies just beyond reach, being distanced by one ingredient too few or too many, a missed method or perhaps just an overlook of some of the catalysts that help bread truly rise to the occasion. No matter the recipe or style, these tips will help your bread become the best that it can be and help turn that dream of warm, delicious homemade bread and its welcome scent into…

If you own sheep or goats or are even just thinking about dabbling in the wide world of small ruminants, you’ve likely encountered the term “foot rot.” This is because foot rot is one of the most common and debilitating diseases that affects sheep and goats, impacting animal welfare and your bottom dollar. Understanding the causes of this troublesome hoof disease as well as how to treat and prevent it go a long way in helping you manage and mitigate the impact of this disease in your flock. WHAT IS FOOT ROT? Foot rot is a disease of the hoof caused by a bacterial infection from the environment. It’s highly contagious and can impact an entire flock. However, to really understand how the disease impacts your animals, we have to…

Most new homesteaders start with chickens; they’re the classic “gateway animals” into farming. But once you’ve got eggs covered, the next logical step is often dairy. For young families, raw milk can be a game-changer: fresh, local and nutrient-dense. SELECTING SHEEP When people think about dairy, they usually imagine a cow. But even one dairy cow produces more milk than most families can use — several gallons a day! Not to mention, cows are large, expensive to feed and require more land (at least 11 ⁄2 to 2 acres per animal and 40 pounds of hay daily). Goats are also a popular alternative. They eat less, take up less space and produce a more manageable amount of milk. But they’re also known for being mischievous escape artists. Their milk has…