Pioneering Today With Melissa K. Norris

Learn how and why it's important to test your soil ph when looking to grow healthy plants that give you the biggest harvest (because that's what healthy plant do). Methods for soil testing, what the tests mean, which plants grow best in acidic and alkaline soil, and how to amend your soil, when you should and what you need to know to keep your soil in tip top shape (aka what mistakes to avoid) when creating the best soil you can for your pasture, garden, fruit trees and bushes.  For full blog post and notes go to MelissaKNorris.com/135

6 natural ways to test and fertilize your garden soil now, so it's in the best shape it can be for healthier plants and larger harvests. What you need to know about soil amendments and which is best for your soil.

My favorite sources for the best deals on real food and food storage when you're not able to grow it yourself. How I shop without coupons to build our food storage up with real food items we use on a daily basis, when I can't get it from farmers market or local source. Includes full lists of each item and how you can steal my strategies to save you time and money! Grab the lists and links at Episode #133 Best Real Food & Food Storage Deals from Unlikely Sources  

Learn how to incorporate perennial plants for less hands on time food production on your homestead. What you need to know about planting perennials, their yearly care, using them for permaculture, pruning, fertilization, and how to grow them even if you don't have any acreage or yard space of your own. Plus, how to get a jump start on your home orchard and berries even if you're renting or not in your permanent home yet. Also, what you need to know about the first years of your perennial plant's life to set up for a healthy plant and bigger harvests for decades. All in today's episode, for show notes, links and resource visit 

Why you shouldn't wait for the perfect time to start your homesteading dreams and goals. How to work with what you have right now. Even if you're in the city, how to begin homesteading now and how to transition from the city to your homestead. Learn why having a community is so important and how to move past discouragement. 

Everything you need to know about starting seeds at home, when to start them for your area, which seeds to start indoors and which ones you shouldn't. Plus get our FREE seed starting blueprint and chart. Includes 5 mistakes homesteaders and gardeners make when seed starting and how to avoid them, plus my favorite resources to use with seed starting. Find out how to get a free packet of my families heirloom Tarheel green pole beans. All of the show notes, resources, and freebies are at Episode #130 on the website here 

Learn how to organize your kitchen once and how that will help you build up your food storage and maximize your time and money. Why an organized kitchen is vital to a well run homestead and the exact steps and criteria to make sure it's working for you and your family, because it's all about customizing things to work for us. 

Learn what happens to your body when you eat healthy and cut out sugar following a keto diet and how a keto diet follows ancestral eating patterns of eating food when it's in season and from what you can hunt, gather, forage and provide for yourself. Learn how your genetics play into what foods work for your body. Plus all your answers from Dr. Hillary Lampers answered on going keto, if it's safe for certain diseases or conditions, and what's going to be best for you. 

Discovering what your trigger foods are and how they affect your health is life changing. You might not even realize you're having a reaction to foods and think these symptoms are normal. If you have any of these signs, you may have a food sensitivity. I share how to find which foods are bothering your system, three ways to test, what I'm eating after finding out my results, and if the Ketogenic diet is right for you.

How I was able to heal my stomach naturally from acid reflux and ulcers and get off of prescription medications I was taking up to 6 times a day. The exact steps and process I used to bring about healing and how you can do the exact same thing. 

Learn how to make your own homemade maple syrup from tapping your own trees (and when to know conditions are right for tapping), boiling the sap to make syrup, how much sap it takes to make syrup, the health benefits of maple syrup you might not have known, and our baking guide on how to alter your current recipes to use all natural maple syrup as the sweetener.  

How we determine which crops we plant each year and how to make sure we plant enough to provide us with a full year of that food. I take you step by step through our process, even if you've never grown your garden before and don't have an inventory of home preserved food to guide you. Get my FREE harvest and garden planning inventory sheet to help you create your best garden and harvest ever with a full years worth of food.

Learn how to feed a family of 4 on just $82.50 a week (or $330 a month) with organic meats, fresh produce and real food sides, without coupons! This includes 3 meals a day and snacks. We share how to do it month in and month out, how to get started with our FREE Cheat Sheet, 8 tips to get your grocery budget back on track NOW. Get a sample meal plan, how to make it work without feeling like a slave to a specific plan and be flexible. 

These are my favorite 6 tools that help save me time and money in our homestead kitchen where we're making almost all of our food from scratch.  They're the things that if they broke, I'd go out and pay full price for them again, and that is saying something, am I right?

Learn which foods were served in 1621 and how they've changed to what we typically serve now. Plus, how to use some of these traditions in your holiday meal prep from the food you've grown and harvested, along with  my families favorite traditional Thanksgiving recipes.  You'll be surprised by the list of foods served back then, and maybe more so by the foods not served at the first Thanksgiving. 

What you never knew about flour from the store, even organic and whole wheat, and how to bring back the lost art of home milling. Different flours, including gluten free options. Plus, using a home mill to grind up your own dehydrated vegetables and spices.  Learn about the special offer on the new stone burr mill, including how to get my fresh flour baking mini e-course and baking guide with favorite recipes! 

Learn why store bought soap is a poor alternative, why homemade soap is better, the actual chemical process of making soap, the 3 methods or types of soap making, and how to choose which is the best method for you. Grab our soap making resource page including our chart on the properties of oils to choose when making your soap. 

Learn these easy time saving tips that help keep the grocery budget down (and your energy bill) when serving up from scratch foods to your family. Shared from the Great Depression and my homestead kitchen to yours. How we avoid cold cereal without cooking breakfast every morning, in fact, I usually only do this twice a month! 

I share the exact steps we take to get our home and homestead ready for winter, from livestock, to the garden, inside and more. 

Learn the tips we used to cut our debt and enable me to quit my day job