Pioneering Today With Melissa K. Norris

Learn some easy tips to germinate your seeds, aka, get the seeds to sprout and grow faster. Because the faster your seeds sprout the sooner you get to harvest. Plus, how to gauge the weather for the fastest growth of your seeds. For all the links and resources Melissa shares in this episode go to https://melissaknorris.com/175 Plus, for this week only the Pioneering Today Academy doors are open!

Learn how much time it really takes to raise a year's worth of food, can you really raise a large vegetable garden and fruit with just 2 hours of work per week? Melissa breaks down the amount of hands on time they spend on their fruit plants and vegetable garden for a family of four that provides them with over 50% of their produce for a year. Grab the resources and links (cuz there's some good ones) here at the blog post https://melissaknorris.com/174

Get real life tips on how to get homemade traditional foods on the table every day when you're busy, plus, some confessions on what it really looks like in a homesteader's kitchen and how cooking like Ma Ingalls meets real life. Join Melissa and Jill from the Prairie Homestead as they share their best tips for traditional cooking while being busy as well as the importance of mindset. Tips for grass fed roast turning out melt-in-your mouth tender, easy planning, and more! Grab the full blog post and resources links here https://melissaknorris.com/173

These easy spring gardening tips with help increase your harvest yield and the amount of fruit and vegetables you bring in this summer. Do these now during early spring to set yourself up for an exceptional growing season. Learn how to apply these tips to your property and garden. Get show notes and resources at https://melissaknorris.com/172  Melissa shares what's worked in their homestead and how to avoid some of the common mistakes they made early on. 

Learn why every garden should have heirloom vegetables growing in it and some of our favorite 10 unique heirloom vegetables to grow in your garden and homestead this year. Why heirloom seeds are the true homesteading garden seed and what makes them so special in every garden and table, hint: it has to do with flavor! Grab each variety in the blog post w/ photos here https://melissaknorris.com/171 and find out how to get some of Melissa's family strain of heirloom Tarheel green bean seed as a FREE bonus coming up very soon!

How to prepare for a snow storm or any extreme weather emergency on your homestead without running to the stores or heading out into the weather. Melissa shares the exact steps she goes through when a storm is on the way, including livestock prep. Get the blog post and full show notes for this episode at https://melissaknorris.com/170

Starting an orchard with the correct fruit trees and berry plants for your climate is crucial to getting a harvest. Choose the correct variety and pollination type for your area with these tips. Melissa walks you through the best fruit types for small areas, larger areas, pollination (cross pollination vs. self-pollination), growing berries, chill hours, adding in new varieties, increasing your harvest. Snag the full written show notes at https://melissaknorris.com/169

Learn how to use herbs and natural remedies, how to build your own natural medicine cabinet using plants that you can either grow at home or get fairly easily, and when to use home remedies and when to turn to modern medicine. All this and more as Melissa chats with Marjory Wildcraft on learning the traditional and age old use of herbs in your natural medicine cabinet. Get the full blog post at https://melissaknorris.com/168 as well as the link to the FREE 4 part herbal video series to take you even deeper.

8 medicinal plants you need to add to your garden this year, not only are these some of my favorite power house medicines on the homestead, but they're beautiful to grow just for appearances. Learn their medicinal properties, best growing practices, and how we use them in our natural medicine cabinet. Grab resources, links, and full blog post at https://melissaknorris.com/167

Learn why sourdough is so amazing for your health and how to get started with making your own sourdough starter. Grab my FREE 4 part sourdough video series walking you through each step, start to finish, of making a sourdough starter, including using gluten-free grains, fresh ground wheat, ancient grains, and regular flour from the store. Hurry, it's only up for a short time, grab the link here https://melissaknorris.com/sourdough/

Use these 8 easy tips on how to meal plan from scratch healthy whole food meals for your family with less stress and time. Tips for putting your pantry staples to use for you. Sample meal plan and items from our homestead kitchen and my favorite time saving tips when it comes to getting food on the table. Visit the show notes here for the meal planning bundle and my upcoming free sourdough series https://melissaknorris.com/165

Learn how to use these 14 tips to plan out your homestead for your most productive and STRESS FREE homestead year. When it comes to gardening, livestock, fruit trees, preserving, cooking from scratch, and being able to afford our homestead, planning now will help things run smoothly and ensure you don't miss an important step. Plus, planning really does help you save money and time. Snag the free download planning chart, links and resources here https://melissaknorris.com/164

Learn my 3 tips for decluttering during the holidays done up homestead style so your house is organized and simplified before the busyness of growing and gardening season. The guidelines and tips I use so you don't have bags of things piling up for a some day use while still being frugal and reusing things when decluttering your home and closet. Use these tips now to help you plan out your holiday shopping, decorating, and clean up time come the first of the year. Get my exact plan and tips for a simplified and clutter free homestead and grab the full blog post and links at https://melissaknorris.com/163

These 12 baking substitutions will save you time and money and are something every homestead kitchen needs to know. Learn how to easily swap out common baking and cooking ingredients with other items in your pantry without sacrificing results. Never forsake a recipe or run to the store because you're out of an ingredient with these easy baking hacks. Grab the full article at https://melissaknorris.com/162

Learn how to choose the best flour for baking in this home baker's flour guide, the properties in regards to baking with all-purpose flour, bread and cake flour. Plus how to choose the best wheat berries and grains when making fresh ground flour at home. The difference between hard and soft wheat, red and white wheat, ancient grains Spelt and Einkorn and how each performs, so you can chose the right flour every time in your kitchen and homestead. For resources and full blog post go to https://melissaknorris.com/161

Learn these 5 secrets to creating a stress free handmade Christmas, including my free templates and downloads to help you customize your strategy and handmade gifts, including eliminating two of the biggest stress components, time and money. Grab the templates, downloads, and resources at https://melissaknorris.com/160 so you have the best handmade and homestead Christmas season yet.

Learn the biggest mistakes we've made over our decades of homesteading and how you can avoid them on your own journey. Learn not only the tactical and practical steps to avoid these costly mistakes in raising your own food and in your garden, but also the critical mindset mistakes so you can do this homesteading and self-sufficiency. For full show notes and resources go to https://melissaknorris.com/159

Learn how to grow more food by using these easy 5 fall gardening tips now to improve soil, put the garden to rest, and create a custom plan for you and your family by evaluating this year's crop and garden for next year's. Know what to look for, what to take notes on, and what to do now. Grab the links and blog post at https://melissaknorris.com/158

Use these 8 tips for seasonal living as we move into fall to help you save time and efficiently preserve the harvest customized to you and your family's needs. Learn how to put the harvest to use in your natural medicine cabinet so you have remedies on hand as we move into cold and flu season. Today's episode is brought to you by the Pioneering Today Academy. For links & resources go to https://melissaknorris.com/157

Learn the best care and cleaning tips of your cast iron to keep that seasoning non-stick. Our favorite and must have tools for cooking with cast iron over an open fire, what you need and what's just nice to have. Plus, how to use a tripod for cooking over a wood fire with your cast iron Dutch oven and safety tips. Learn why baking with your cast iron Dutch oven outdoors is a skill everyone should learn and how to get started. For resources, links and tons of photos go to melissaknorris.com/156 Plus, check out our new e-course inside the Pioneering Today Academy Cast Iron & Dutch Oven Outdoor Cooking!