Blog Posts

Tools for the Garden

6/3/2022

Check out the Hori Hori garden tools by Emerging Green!

I was asked to review two products, the Hori Hori Garden Gloves and the Garden Knife. I took them to the garden at the beginning of the season to test them out. You can see how I used them in this You Tube Video:

https://youtu.be/V8ChKoyuQs8

If you would like to purchase these items, go to this link
https://www.emerging-green.biz/product-page/hori-hori-garden-knife-with-sheath-gardening-gloves

We are thankful for rain and the garden is growing well! I am continuing to use the Garden Gloves, mostly in the rock garden where they make it easier to move gravel and dig out weeds that insist on growing there. The garden knife is great for slicing unwanted grass and when it's muddy, I can slice under the plant and sever the roots below rather than dig up a big ball of roots and mud. We live in the Blackland Prairie and if you are familiar with that, you know how sticky it can be! I think I have gotten more use out of the garden knife than I anticipated. I have been able to saw grass clumps and weeds a lot quicker than cutting with scissors or digging out.

Hori Hori Garden Knife

Hori Hori Garden Gloves

Thank you for stopping in and checking this out! I hope you find it helpful since we can all use a little help in the garden to make the work easier!

Happy gardening!
Cheryl at Pickle Creek Ranch

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Chicken Water Booster

3/1/2021

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Yes, I made my own!

If you have chickens you may already know that Oregano is good for them because of its ability to fight pathogens as related in this study: https://bit.ly/2R0ZL90

Thieves essential oil is also good for health as is Rosemary. After combining the following ingredients, all it takes is a little scoop (1/4 tsp) of it per gallon of water.

1/4 C Citric Acid (food grade)
1/2 C Salt
7 drops Thieves Vitality
14 drops Oregano Vitality
2 drops Rosemary Vitality

Blend the dry ingredients and the oils together and store in a closed container. It gets kind of dusty when mixing, so I made sure to wear a mask and cover any open containers in the kitchen, like my coffee cup.

Also, for even more added benefit, add a teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar to the water.

Happy chicken keeping!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch

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Make Your Own Hypertufa Pot

1/7/2021

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Make Your Own Hypertufa Pot
By Cheryl L. McClure

Hypertufa pots are not just for plants!

To get the following instructions in a printable PDF, click the green button. Enjoy!

Hypertufa Pot Instructions

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Osage Orange Ornament

11/21/2020

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How to make an Osage Orange (horse apple) ornament.
By Cheryl L. McClure

These beautiful, organic, handmade ornaments are not hard to make but it does take some time and elbow grease!

Gather your horse apples as they fall from the Bodark tree while they are fresh and green.

Alone, they will make a great table top still life setting in the fall!

And did you know there's folklore that suggests the horse apples can be used as insect repellent? If you have an abundance, might want to give it a try!

I found the best knife to cut with is a sharp cleaver.

A large sheet of plywood is handy to cut on and to lay the slices out on. After I cut the stem end off of the horse apple, I place the flat end down and slice across parallel to the plywood surface since these are very hard in the center.

Use rubber gloves because the fruit is very sticky (like glue). It will get everywhere so be sure and wear your grubbies! Using orange oil soap will get the tools clean.

Place your slices on a foil covered cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees F for several hours; turn periodically. I have left them in for 8-10 hours and let air dry a day or two after to cure.

Once dry, drill holes for the attachment and paint. I used gold spray paint on one side and silver on the other.

Wire the attachment with some florist wire or lightweight wire. The hooks are ready made, so they work nicely.

Hang as is or embellish. Endless, are the possibilities with crystals, beads, gems or small pinecones!

Enjoy your ornaments. Dress up a wreath or use in a floral arrangement. They also make great gifts or package decorations!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch

WHAT YOU NEED:
Horse Apples (Osage Oranges)
Sheet of plywood
Sharp cleaver
Foil to line a cookie sheet
Gloves (probably best to use some you can throw away)
Wear your old work clothes!
Spray paint of desired color
Hammer and nail to make hole
Wire and wire hooks
Orange oil for cleanup

INSTRUCTIONS:
Slice across the stem end of horse apple
Set flat side down onto plywood
Slice parallel to the plywood from the bottom up - about 1/4 inch thickness
Lay out on foil lined cookie sheet
(You can let them totally air dry but to hurry it up, I put in the oven)
Bake for several hours at 250° F, checking periodically, turn and bake more if needed
Allow to cure for a day or so
Drill hole for wire
Spray paint the ornaments, let dry before turning over to paint the other side
Add wire looped through hole, add hook
Attach additional bling if desired, like crystals, glitter, mini pinecones or beads.

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Scented Pine Cones - DIY

11/21/2020

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How to Make It | Scented Pine Cones

1) Soak pine cones in water for about an hour to get rid of critters if you got them from outside.

2) Lay the cones out on a foil-lined baking sheet and pop them in a 200º oven for about 30 minutes. This helps the cones open up.

3) Once they have cooled, place them in a ziploc bag. Sprinkle about 30 drops of Cinnamon Bark essential oil on the cones in the bag. Cinnamon Bark and Clove is also a great combo.

4) Let them sit in the bag for 1-2 weeks. Place in your favorite holiday bowl or garland and enjoy an amazing holiday scent.

In case you were wondering ...

A number of behavioral studies have demonstrated that smells trigger more vivid emotional memories and are better at inducing that feeling of 'being brought back in time' than images.

Also, if you have magnolia pods, those can be added as well!

Enjoy!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch

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Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant Pot

9/15/2020

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Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant Pot
Using Duck Eggs!
By Cheryl L. McClure

When we began our journey with chicken keeping and duck keeping, I had no idea about eating duck eggs. I thought this would be an eye opener for those who, like me, just didn't know! Yes, you can eat duck eggs and they are great for baking and frying and even hard boiled!! They are a bird just like chickens and so why not? Some may find the taste a little richer in flavor and the texture not much different, but to us, they really enhance the baked goods we use them in.

Small duck egg on left, double yolk duck egg on the right, chicken egg on top.

One of our hens is laying double yolk eggs (you go girl!) and the ducklings we hatched earlier this year have grown up and started laying small eggs. Hopefully they will get bigger as they get older! The brown egg is a nice sized chicken egg to show for comparison.

What better way to use the small duck eggs than to make hard-boiled eggs in the instant pot!

Normally when I cook hard-boiled chicken eggs in the instant pot, I use the 5-5-5 method. Put several in a basket, add a cup of water, set the pressure to manual for five minutes, then natural pressure release for five minutes, then five minutes in an ice bath. Works perfect every time.

Knowing that I want to have hard-boiled eggs in bulk to chop up and add to my chicken salad or regular salad I wanted to try it this way. All my duck eggs in this batch are a little smaller than chicken eggs. The beauty of this process: no peeling eggshells!! Woo hoo!

I’ve seen this done before in other recipes for the instant pot. You might want to check out Texas Homesteader and see how she cooks her chicken eggs. She has some other great recipes too.

Instructions:

Crack 8 small eggs into a buttered 7 inch silicone pie pan (with lid) and place on trivet over 1 cup of water. Put the lid on! (I got my baskets and silicone pie pan at QVC. They fit perfectly.)
Set to manual pressure for 5 minutes.
Natural pressure release for 10 minutes.

But Oops! I forgot and left them in for 38 minutes!!!!!!!! Lol!

No worries! They came out fine! I was able to chop them up and use half of them in our chicken salad and store the other half in the fridge to add to our garden salad. What a great sandwich!

I like to add chopped celery, pickle relish, grapes, craisins and sometimes pecans to my chicken salad. Adding essential oils to your recipe is also an option as there is a whole culinary set to access at essenty.com/cherylintexas and one tiny drop goes a long way!

Enjoy your hard boiled eggs!!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch

picklecreekranch.com
essenty.com/cherylintexas - Nature at its Best

PS: You don't have to have a drake for a (duck) hen to lay eggs. But the good thing about chicken and duck keeping is we can grow our flock any time, with the help of the boys.

Follow our journey at the ranch on Facebook and Instagram!

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The Blog Page

Tools for the Garden

Check out the Hori Hori garden tools by Emerging Green!

Chicken Water Booster

Make Your Own Hypertufa Pot

Make Your Own Hypertufa Pot
By Cheryl L. McClure

Osage Orange Ornament

How to make an Osage Orange (horse apple) ornament.
By Cheryl L. McClure

Scented Pine Cones - DIY

Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant Pot

Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant Pot
Using Duck Eggs!
By Cheryl L. McClure

Cheryl L. McClure

Categories

Archives

The Blog Page

Tools for the Garden

Check out the Hori Hori garden tools by Emerging Green!

Chicken Water Booster

Make Your Own Hypertufa Pot

Make Your Own Hypertufa PotBy Cheryl L. McClure

Osage Orange Ornament

How to make an Osage Orange (horse apple) ornament.By Cheryl L. McClure

Scented Pine Cones - DIY

Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant Pot

Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant PotUsing Duck Eggs!By Cheryl L. McClure

Cheryl L. McClure

Categories

Archives

Make Your Own Hypertufa Pot
By Cheryl L. McClure

How to make an Osage Orange (horse apple) ornament.
By Cheryl L. McClure

Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant Pot
Using Duck Eggs!
By Cheryl L. McClure