Spreading preparation 500 at Homeacres
BD 500, strange as it sounds, is made from cow manure which has been stuffed into the horn of a female cow in the autumn and buried in the soil, pointed end downwards, over the winter to mature and ferment. During this time it is transformed from sticky fresh manure...
Basil flower tips and recipes
Basil flowers are beautiful to look at, smell gorgeous and attract bees and other beneficial insects. It is tempting to leave the flowers on because they look so pretty, but removing them encourages the plant to put its energy into continuing to produce abundant...
Edible flowers and a rose vinegar recipe
On Friday I harvested the first of my roses to dry the petals. The edible flowers here are beginning to bloom in abundance, adding beauty and colour to the garden and food, with the added bonus of smelling amazing and feeding the bees. My article on growing and using...
River Cottage and a Herbal Vinegar recipe
On April 4th, Charles, Felix (a German university student who is working at Homeacres with Charles for four months) and I travelled to Axminster, Devon for the River Cottage ‘Meet the Experts’ Day, where Charles and I were two of the experts giving talks....
Homemade fertility – Comfrey
Here in Somerset and across much of England comfrey grows wild, providing an important source of food for bees feeding from the clusters of droopy flowers and other wildlife including moth caterpillars and ladybirds. The large hairy leaves can be spread as a mulch,...Stephanie Hafferty
photo by Jason Ingram
Welcome to my blog. I’m Stephanie, follow my journey as I create my homestead in rural Wales on around half an acre. Here I grow year round, and teach gardening, homesteading and food courses.
An experienced kitchen gardener, homesteader and plant-based chef, I’ve been growing my own food for decades to feed my family. I am an award winning garden and food writer, write for many publications and am currently working on my third book.
From the garden to the kitchen, explore the categories below to follow the rhythms of life on the homestead.
Publications I write for include:
