Join me with my guest Deanne Converse as we discuss ways to become more self-sustainable with our livestock feed costs. Deanne is sharing her years of experience in feeding livestock without the feed store. With the rise in feed costs over the past few years, this is one podcast you won’t want to miss. We’re not only talking about how to feed cattle, but chickens, pigs, sheep, goats and more. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit https://melissaknorris.com/427. ...

Join me as I continue on in this Homesteading 101 Series (Back to the Basics). Today’s episode is all about the basics of raising livestock, and I’ll heavily focus on cattle. If you’ve ever wanted to raise your own grass-fed, grass-finished beef then this is the podcast for you. I’m giving you all the basics you need in today’s episode, plus many links for additional resources. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit https://melissaknorris.com/426. This post is...

Join me and my guest, Don Tipping from Siskiyou Seeds as we discuss the history of seeds and seed saving and how it’s changed over the past 100 years. Our conversation takes a deep dive into how seed companies source their seed (this may surprise you!) and how to know you’re getting quality seeds with the exact characteristics you want. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit https://melissaknorris.com/425.  This post is sponsored by Azure Standard. If you’re in...

Join me and my guest, Susan Poizner, as we discuss the basics of growing fruit trees. With a few tips under your belt, you’ll know what fruit tree varieties will work best for your climate, when to plant your trees, and the nine tips for getting your fruit trees to grow fast! Susan also covers some mistakes to avoid when planting new fruit trees and we briefly cover how to protect your trees from disease (or rehabilitate neglected trees). For more information and any links mentioned in this...

Join me as I continue on in this Homesteading 101 Series (Back to the Basics). Today’s episode is all about the basics of gardening. Which ultimately means understanding the basics of soil. You don’t have to be a soil expert, or a biochemist to understand how to know if your soil is good (or how to amend it, if needed). However, if you don’t pay attention to your soil quality, it doesn’t matter how many other gardening skills you acquire, you’ll continue to struggle if your soil quality is...

Join me for this podcast interview with Dr. Christopher Hobbs as we discuss the health benefits of mushrooms. The benefits are vast, and when you consider that you can easily grow mushrooms at home (or forage for them nearly everywhere), it gets even more exciting. Ever since I found healing from stomach acid and ulcers by changing the food I ate, I've continued down the rabbit hole of using our food and herbs as medicine. Join me with Dr. Hobbs as we discuss the best mushrooms for their...

One of the crops that’s easily overlooked for growing a sustainable food source on the homestead is the nut tree. As with fruit trees, once a nut tree is established, it can produce food for your family for decades (and even generations) to come. Learn which nut trees are best for your homestead needs with David Hughes from Rock Bridge Trees. He’s sharing his best tips on nut tree care and maintenance, harvesting and even pest control. For more information and any links mentioned in this...

Join me for this podcast series on Homesteading 101: Back to the Basics. We know countless people are joining this homesteading movement, and I would like to hold the door open and welcome you in. In this series we’ll be discussing the five pillars of homesteading: gardening, livestock, homestead cooking, preserving and herbal medicine. Though this series won't be a comprehensive step-by-step on how to start a homestead, it should help answer some of those basic questions many people have...

For the first time ever, genetically modified seeds have been made available to the common gardener for home use. I’ve been hearing from many home gardeners how excited they are to grow this new variety of tomato in their home garden, which to be honest, surprises me. Which makes me wonder if everyone knows exactly what GMO seeds are, and if we ought to be concerned? In today’s podcast, I’m diving into the nitty gritty of what classifies a seed as GMO, or Hybrid, or F1 Hybrid. I’m also...

Are you under the impression that you live in a pretty secure area, free of threats from natural disasters or wide-spread emergencies? I invite you to listen to today’s podcast and you may reconsider just how prepared you and your family are. Emergencies happen in the blink of an eye, and if you’re not ready, they can be catastrophic. Join me with Jeff Anderson from Warrior Life as he shares his knowledge of being prepared and how to pack a “bug out bag” (also known as a “go bag”). He’ll...

Now is the time to be thinking about your medicinal herb gardens. When planning to stock your herbal medicine cabinets, the planning starts well before harvest. Whether you’re growing your own medicinal herbs, just getting started with an herb garden, or purchasing herbs, tinctures, or other herbal remedies already made, now is the time to plan to stock up for the year. Come listen to this episode as I share my tips on how to plan, buy seeds, starts or cuttings, or purchase products from...

With meat labeling laws being changed right before our eyes, it's getting harder and harder to trust where our meat is coming from, and how it was raised and processed. Will Harris and his daughter Jenni from White Oak Pastures share the steps consumers can take to regain control over the food industry. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit melissaknorris.com/416.

Let's dive into the gut-brain connection and how to improve our gut for better overall health and wellness. If you've been around here for any length of time, you know we discuss the importance of our gut health. 70-80% of our gut health is located in our gut. So what we eat, food-wise, not only affects our digestion and overall health, but our immune system. The amazing thing is that it goes beyond our immune system because it impacts the way our brain communicates with all the other systems...

This week I’m sharing my health update (post surgery) as well as my battle with a 35 day virus(es). I’m also sharing my need for margin, and some of the health changes I’m making in 2024. If you find yourself nearing burnout, don’t wait until it finally happens to make necessary changes in your life. This is so important not only for mental health, but our physical health as well. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit melissaknorris.com/414.

This past week we were running our cattle herd through the system for getting tags (which helps track lineage), castration and overall wellbeing. Having a larger operation has meant some changes for these practices. If you’re thinking about raising cattle, I highly recommend you listen to today’s podcast as I’m sharing some of the differences between owning one, nine or 20+ head of cattle. I also discuss the differences between banding or cut castration and why we switched. For more...

Join me with Sophia Eng, author of The Nourishing Asian Kitchen, as we discuss her journey into homesteading, motherhood, homeschooling, blogging and becoming a cookbook author. No doubt you’ve heard of the Nourishing Traditions cookbook by Sally Fallon. Sophia took her inspiration from there and recreated over 100 traditional Asian recipes that had been passed down for generations in her family. But instead of using processed ingredients, she used only real whole foods. For more information...

As promised, in today’s episode I’m spilling the beans on the health issues I’ve been having for the past few years. Turns out, what I thought was a damaged muscle turned out to be a tumor. By the time you’re hearing this, I should be happily recovering from surgery and will be sure to give you an update once I’m able. In this episode, I’m also sharing my frustrations about the broken medical system (hint: they match my frustrations about the broken food system) and sharing encouragement on...

I’ve been traveling for the past two weeks. In fact, in about a 14 day period, I was only home a few of those days. What I noticed was the huge lack of healthy food available in many parts of the United States. I’ve become quite accustomed to what’s available in my own slice of the world, and I can easily forget that not everyone has available to them what I do here. So what is it that we need to focus on today in order to fix our broken food system? Listen to this podcast episode and hear my...

Welcome back to part two of my series on answering your questions. In today’s episode, I’m sharing a bit more of the “behind-the-scenes” of what it takes to run my business. From how much time per day I spend on my job, to how many people I have working with me. Plus how to create a homestead that can sustain itself financially and all the different ways that can look. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit melissaknorris.com/409.

Welcome back to another episode of the Pioneering Today Podcast. In today’s episode, I’ll be answering your questions from social media. All these questions pertain to homesteading, so we’re calling this the “Homesteading Edition” and I’ll be back next week to answer more of your questions pertaining to the financial side of homesteading and running a business. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit melissaknorris.com/408.

Have you ever wondered how people manage to grocery shop, cook from-scratch meals for their family, and have no waste coming out of their homes? They make it look so easy! Though it might not be easy, it is simple. Join me for today’s podcast with special guest, Mary Shrader from Mary’s Nest as we discuss the skills that were passed down to us from our parents who lived through the Great Depression. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit melissaknorris.com/407.

Have you ever wondered if it’s safe to can previously frozen foods? I’m here to tell you it is, but with a few caveats. There are certain foods I wouldn’t feel comfortable canning after it has been frozen (and I’ll share why in the podcast), but there are also a few things you want to consider before tossing those precious veggies into the freezer. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit melissaknorris.com/406.

Come hang out with me and Kaylee Richardson (from The Honeystead) as we discuss our favorite medicinal herbs and their uses. For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit melissaknorris.com/405.

What is an adaptogen and why should you consider incorporating them into your daily routine? Learn about adaptogen herbs and how they can be used to help support your body on a daily basis, including what adaptogens to use, where to buy them, and how to use them.  For more information and any links mentioned in this episode, visit melissaknorris.com/404.