Dear Hettie: I would like to have backyard chickens. Is it really as easy as people say?~ Adrienne Well, Hettie says, “Haven’t you heard? Chickens are out. Ducks are in! You should really get yourself some Ducks!” I know what you’re thinking, of course Hettie prefers ducks – she IS a duck. How do I know […]

Q: Dear Hettie — I love organic gardening and want to do more. I want to be more ecological and self-sustaining. I’ve heard the term “permaculture” used by like minded acquaintances, but I can’t really pin-point exactly what people mean by it. What is permaculture? Can learning about it help me do more for my […]

Dear Hettie, What’s the difference between Honey Bees and Mason Bees? I have been focusing on planting edibles in my yard and think I should have honey bees since they actually produce something I can use – honey. Why would I want to add Mason Bees anyway? Answer: Oh, my…. quacks Grandmother Hettie (yes, Hettie […]

If you’re like me (Mama Soul) you have the best of intentions for planting a garden, but even when the weather is right you tend to procrastinate. It’s partly because your too lazy to bend over to do the planting, and then you have to count 2-3 seeds and dig holes of certain depths for […]

Dear Hettie, I love the soap at Tierra Soul. Is the recipe a farm secret? Lori (a Farm-Stay Guest) It is all in the Lard, Lady! When we passed this question on to Madame Hettie, she didn’t even skip a beat before answering. She’s right, Lard is our secret, and now it can be yours! […]

Dear Hettie, I am an urban farmer, but recently heard about wildcrafting and wonder, is it is compatible with what I’m already doing? ~ Jennifer Well, says Hettie, You really should know about a thing called “backyard wildcrafting.” Let me explain: Urban farming is all the rage. in our hometown of Portland, Oregon. There are […]

Dear Hettie Quackers, Has living on a farm and connecting with the earth helped you understand the meaning of Easter? ~ Dawn This time last year I had a huge epiphany. As Easter was approaching I had been pondering the season and feeling rather uninspired. I didn’t feel like forcing myself into a false celebration […]

Ask Hettie Quackers Q: How do I celebrate Day of the Dead in a way that makes a difference? A: Hettie says, tell them about the altar…. and the Feast. Well, we here at Tierra Soul started building our Day of the Dead altar yesterday. I went down to the basement and brought out the […]

Dear Hettie, We can’t drink all our milk before it goes sour. It’s so precious, what can I do to prevent it in the future? ~ Heather Well, Hettie says, sour milk is not really something to prevent. Rotten milk is and that is really only a problem with bad or pasteurized milk. Really, she […]

So, here we are on Easter morning . . . … with our forty-one eggs, ready to make our Quiche and crepes. Problem is that because they were collecting over time in our girls secret spot, we have no idea how old they are and if any of them are rotten! We could blow each one […]