Honeyvine Homestead and Botanicals

10/23/2025

Good morning, neighbors!

Have you ever wondered what those green-turning-to-black “balls” are on the side of the road this time of year? Good chance you are seeing Black Walnuts!

My daddy’s favorite ice cream was Black Walnut, and it has to be from Braum’s. (IYKYK!). I always hated the taste of it, it seemed sickly sweet and rich in a way that was too adult for my young pallet. Who would have thought I’d now be using those citrusy-smelling balls as medicine for my family!

This is a wonderful article on Black Walnut, primarily on how to harvest and cure them for eating. But there’s also brief but reliable information on using them medicinally.

I’ve always heard that Black Walnuts aren’t worth the trouble getting them open, but now I see them a free source of fat and protein for my family, should we ever need that. Nuts would become vitally important food sources, should things get very bad.

We have a tree down the road from us and I think this article just inspired me to go ahead and collect for eating. Ironically, we are a pecan family! But having the experience, knowing how to do something before you NEED to know, that’s common sense. 🦋

P.S. I also highly recommend you collect and leech some acorns to make into acorn flour, if you’ve never done it. The kids and I did that a few years back and it was a blast!

Learn how to forage and identify black walnuts (Juglans nigra) plus how to dry and cure the nuts, and use the hulls and leaves for remedies.

10/22/2025

I love Sajah’s recommendations, here! I have not worked with licorice much, but Gotu Kola, Blue Vervain, and Milky Oats are three of my favorite herbs. As someone who deals with chronic anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed, as well as brain fog, milky, oats, and Gotu Kola are especially effective for me and I take them almost daily (with Tulsi). I use blue vervain more for when I’m having a particularly bad anxiety day, whereas I use milky oats and Tulsi. as a daily tonic for my nervous system. 

What herbs would you find it hard to live without? Can you narrow that list down to just four?That is the question we posed to Sajah Popham, co-founder of Th...

10/22/2025

NE Oklahoma area ladies (15+), November 8th is going to be a fun day at Chandler Park in Tulsa! The Women in Nature Workshop will offer experiences in archery and atlatls (ancient spear throwing), Foraging, Nature Conservation and Wildlife Tracking, and Wilderness Survival Skills.

Myself and Ashley Clouse of Restoration Farms will be teaching the foraging portion and we’d love to have you! For our portion we’ll be discussing ethical foraging practices, identifying some wild plants for food and medicine at the park, and then making a medicinal infused honey to take home.

The cost for the entire day is only $50, and that includes a yummy foil packet lunch. Each person will create their own packet from available foods. Ashley and I will be providing Jerusalem Artichokes for those that want to try them (and hope to give a few to every person so they will have their own crop in the future).

Join us! Space is limited to 50, so don’t wait!♥️♥️♥️

10/22/2025

It has been a very busy day here on the homestead! I may not be able to move tomorrow, but it feels good to know I earned my 💤😴💤 tonight!

Tomorrow afternoon we’ll be re-stocking several things at Across the Prairie & Friends: Native Plants & More, including some super yummy Spice Bread w/ Pecans! No banana bread this week due to a banana mishap 🍌 , but you won’t be disappointed in the Spice Bread!

🍞Spice Bread: $6 ($7 gluten free).
I add plenty of pecans and a rich spice blend to a pumpkin bread base to make a rich-tasting 2-4 serving mini-loaves. My husband hates pumpkin bread and all things pumpkin, but he loves this bread.

🤒Elderberry Immune Syrup: $24
16 oz. Not your basic elderberry syrup. I include 14 beneficial herbs and spices, including Oklahoma natives, to assist your immune system this fall and winter. This is the last of the syrup I will be making with fresh/frozen berries for this year, so get yours soon.*

🍒Sand Plum Jam: $10
This is the last of the Sand Plum for 2025! Jelly is now sold out, but there are still 8 jars of Sand Plum Jam. The jam is my favorite because it spreads so nicely.

❣️Available beginning Thursday❣️

🍎Red Apple Jelly: $8
This is my second favorite jelly (after Sand Plum)! The recipe is so simple. Just apples, water, lemon, and sugar. This jelly typically spreads more smoothly when compared to jellies made with added pectin. The color is due to the pigment on the apple peels. Beautiful!

🍏Chai-Spiced Apple Butter: $8
Y’all. Y’all! This is good stuff! I jazzed up basic apple butter with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and freshly ground cardamom (classic chai spices). I could eat this by the bowlful but I will settle with putting some on the spice bread!!

Have a blessed day friends, and thank you for your support. 🙏🏼

10/22/2025

Good morning, neighbors. I hope your day is filled with unexpected blessings, strength, and friendship.

10/22/2025

10/21/2025

Oklahoma growing season just keeps going! The cooler but still warm autumn air has reinvigorated the green! Plants that were done are putting out beautiful new “spring” growth. I might just get a harvest of chickweed in before it gets too cold! Henbit. Purple Deadnettle, catnip, Mugort, baby tomato plant volunteers (that will unfortunately die), Cowpens are putting out new growth and (amazingly to me) the biennial guara started reblooming!

It’s lovely to see, and one of the reasons I love October in Oklahoma.

P.S. The preview is all green but there are colorful blooms in this set of pics as well.

10/21/2025

I was going to say the tomatoes are winning, but really we are! 10 more pounds this morning. This is more tomatoes than we got at the height of summer. Gonna be fun to make all that sauce!

10/20/2025

When life gives you lemons (and it has been lately), make apple stuff!

Autumn, for our family, means the smell of apples wafting through the house, permeating everything and making us all crave pie.

I’d love to say that we buy locally sourced organic apples, but the reality is I bought 15 lbs of apples from Sam’s for $24 and I don’t let perfection be the enemy of good.

I’ll do several 15-pound batches this autumn, every pay period. This batch the plan is apple scrap jelly (my second favorite jelly after Sand Plum), apple scrap vinegar, dehydrated apples, and apple butter. We also make apples for pie filling and applesauce.

Apple Jelly and Apple Butter will be available at Across the Prairie or from our homestead soon!

10/19/2025

Saving this for later because yum!

10/19/2025

Do you save your grease or make your own from animal fat?

We do! I keep and use bacon grease on the counter and use it all the time. Being dairy free, I use it to make my eggs—yum!

We also keep fat from larger cuts of meat and when we have enough, make tallow (beef) or lard (pork).

I don’t really reuse grease from draining off ground beef and such, but some do. You still should render it like tallow to get all meat particles out, or I suppose if you keep it in the freezer that would work as well.

Do you save your grease?!