Stuff That Passed My Muster | Orange Grove Road

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How About I Save You Some Time

The time we’ve spent searching for supplies that fit into our criteria is staggering.

Tools need to hold up to our vigorous use in harsh high heat conditions and have a minimal negative impact on the environment.
Supplements need to have integrity, be cost-effective, clean, non-GMO and make a positive difference for us.
Kitchen supplies need to hold up to and be free from leaching lead, aluminum, and other toxic substances into our food.
Food items need to be grown or raised responsibly without pesticides, herbicides or GMOs.

I am always updating this list as I try out new things, so you may want to bookmark this page and check back from time to time.

Farm & Garden

Broadfork

Here is where I bought my beloved broadfork pictured above: Valley Oak Tool Company {I am not an affiliate. I just love this broadfork.}

This thing is made of solid metal and will never break. And it aerates the soil without breaking up the structure too much, which preserves more of the precious microorganisms.

I will never go back to tilling the garden with a machine. My garden soil has improved drastically with each year of use. It may even be ready to graduate to a no-till garden now!

I really need to update this with a picture of what that patch of garden looks like now.

Boots “from heaven”

If you are like me, once you wear a pair of these Ariat Fernlee waterproof rubber boots around while doing farm chores, nothing else will ever do again. They make my feet feel so good.

Best of all they are about half the cost of other brand name high quality boots that I had considered. After seeing many reviews of people who switched from the more expensive boots to these I decided to give these a try.

These are the most comfortable boots I have ever owned and I have owned many. These are actually formed inside so they support the arches unlike most rubber boots.

The reviews on these are the best I’ve seen for rubber boots. And now that I’ve owned a pair for almost a year I can tell these are going to hold up for many years to come.

One of my besties decided to get some too, and she and I agree that these are the only rubber boots we ever want to own.

Chicken Plucker

I got this Yardbird chicken plucker about a year a go and it has cut chicken processing time by more than half. It has worked great for me, except when I tried to use it on a chicken carcass who’s head had been removed. The neck kept getting stuck between the fingers, keeping the thing from getting plucked. Lesson learned. Don’t remove the head before plucking…

Also it didn’t quite pluck some of the bigger roosters totally clean. These were very large roosters. Like 9 lbs after processing. It was really no big deal, they were mostly clean, but tail feathers and some wing feathers didn’t want to come off. They may have needed a longer hot water dunk time since they were so big and probably on the older side.

Pros:

Cleans small to medium sized birds (3-6 lbs dressed out) immaculately
Easy to clean when you’re done
Rolls very easily
Makes feather collection easy and less messy
Stainless steel and feels like it will hold up for many years to come
Priced well with excellent reviews

Cons:

May not clean larger birds (9 lbs) very well

Gopher Trap

I’ve always been a little hesitant to mess with spring loaded traps after watching my father snap his fingers a few times while demonstrating how to use a mouse trap. This trap eliminates that problem. It also doesn’t require tearing up your yard to get the trap in the ground. Works great and I love that you don’t have to touch anything gross.

Books

Books about food:

“Real Food for Rookies” is a great book for anyone getting started on a real food journey. I have gained a lot valuable knowledge from Kelly the Kitchen Kop over the years.

Did you know you can make cheese without commercial cultures? “The Art of Natural Cheesemaking” kinda blew my mind. I had no idea you could make cheddar, chèvre, and even yogurt- yes actual yogurt, with kefir!

Books about raising livestock naturally:

“The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable” is like going back in time and watching how plants have been used to treat all sorts of livestock for all sorts of ailments.

Ok, so my 2₵ is that this book is a great testimony of how minerals really have a profound effect on goat health. This helped me learn which minerals are good for what. That being said, I reach for herbs in place of synthetic minerals. I still find this book incredibly useful.

IF YOU CAN ONLY HAVE ONE BOOK ON GOATS, “Holistic Goat Care” would be the one I would recommend. Its incredibly thorough and full of knowledge that can only be gained through years of experience.

Human Supplements

My article on how to MAKE YOUR OWN liquid magnesium chloride can be found here. Click on the picture above to buy the magnesium chloride powder.

Here’s the best-priced cod liver oil that I’ve found that doesn’t remove the natural vitamin A and D and replace with a synthetic version. Note: After taking another brand of cod liver oil (fermented) for several years I was still deficient in D. I consider this to be my source of A and omega 3’s.

This is how we get vitamins D3 and K2. I would caution you on taking any vitamin D supplement without making sure you’re getting plenty of vitamin K2 and A (retinol not beta-carotene).

Natural Goat Care Supplies

This is what I have used to rid my goat of suspected mites. It took months of applying every few days but eventually did work. It has worked great for cuts too.

Kitchen Items

This 5 oz measuring glass is very handy for substances that shouldn’t come into contact with metal or plastic. This is how I measure out my homemade liquid magnesium each day. In the reviews, people recommend hand washing to preserve the markings. I’ve been washing in the dishwasher for over two years with no issues.

Freeze Dryer

Oh my gosh yes these are very expensive. But…

I use mine to preserve raw eggs, meat, tomatoes, oranges, milk, bone broth, moringa leaves, herbs, berries, apples, cooked beans, leftover meals, and much more. I even use it to prepare extra kefir grains to store long term. You can even perpetuate cheese and yogurt cultures and preserve them with this machine! No more buying these expensive cultures over and over.

The pump that I purchased does require some maintenance with each use, but it’s pretty simple. Just drain and filter the oil and you’re good to go. They now offer an oil-free pump that requires zero maintenance! It ain’t cheap though and I cannot vouch for it as I have not used it.

I am now an affiliate of Harvestright so purchasing items by clicking on the image above will help me out. Many thanks!

NOTE: My father gifted me the large 5 tray machine. He didn’t realize we would have to have an electrician come in and install an appropriate socket for it. Of course, I am hugely grateful for this gift, but I would save yourself the trouble and get the small or medium one. Then again, I do love that I can preserve all the leaves of a whole moringa tree in this baby.

Soap Making Supplies

The elastic around the top of the arm is probably a little snug for most people. It doesn’t bother me and I like that they stay up well, but for some the elastic may feel a little tight. Other than that these gloves have been much easier to work with that some of the others I’ve tried.

Preparedness Supplies

I chose a Berkey water filter for our family because:

I like to be able to clean it out from time to time. I’ve read about a family who was very ill for a very long time before they finally thought to cut open their reverse osmosis device and found it full of black mold. 🤢 It’s probably not likely to happen to most people, but I just don’t like the thought of it being a possibility.
I like that the Berkey doesn’t remove minerals.
I literally can take it anywhere, like camping or a motel on the beach 😊.
It doesn’t require water pressure to work so it’s good for emergency situations.
The Berkey has options for removing fluoride and arsenic.
It actually looks very beautiful in my kitchen!

Friends recommended I get the biggest one we could afford so I got the Imperial. We have a family of 4 and I’m glad we got a large one. We use it for soaking grains, making broth, rinsing produce, etc. so for us big was the way to go. Even with its large capacity, I fill it every day.

I would recommend getting an extra set of filters. This way you get twice as fast filtering for the same cost as if you bought them consecutively. They don’t get used up by time, but by the amount of water they filter.

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