Happy Sunday everyone!
Hope this week's curation digest finds you all well.

Before we begin, I just want to say thank you and keep up the great work to all of the Steemians creating fantastic earth-centered content week after week. When you're just starting or when the price of Steem is down (as it is now!), it can be difficult to keep up morale. @the-hearth we want to boost YOU & give you a high five to say keep it up!

This week @mountainjewel, the curators @the-hearth, are in Florida, enjoying the Fruit & Spice Park (yesterday) and the beaches, everglades, and hanging out with @birdsinparadise. It's been a fantastic time to slow down and take a breather while enjoying a beautiful locale and time with loved ones. In the next few days, we're going to make an introductory video on D.Tube also answering any questions y'all may have for us, so feel free to leave some in the comments or on our latest post.

Before we begin, check out the latest by @coyoteom & @notconvinced, A Life Changing Evolution in Steemit Interaction: A Must Read for All Steemit Users!!

They ask,

Do you have projects you have put on the backburner that could use some help?
Do you like to travel cheaply and have a skill to offer?

When we think about online-to-personal global connections, some shady practices of AirB&B might come to mind and other sites like wwoof, helpx and workaway charge a fee to connect on a human level.

Steemit can replace those platforms, make human connection the priority over profit and be the hub to bring Steemit users together, essentially eliminating borders.

Head over to their post to read more of this inspiring idea! Great work!!

The Curation

To start of this week's curation, I want to introduce 2 promising Steemians.

@steemgrower

His introduce yourself post says,

Hi I am the grower,
Just letting you know we all can make a difference by planting a seed to give life to good new ideas.
I am a self employed gardener and have a great vision for the planet ( I am taking it back - joke), let's fix it first by improving the soil and cleaning up the seas!

I'll be posting gardening tips and showing you pretty flowers from my travels.

His first post contains some great instructors for pruning an apple tree in the spring! And details him planting onion sets.

Hop by his blog, give him a follow, comment and upvote!

Also new this week, is

@libertyworms

As they say in their intro post,

Hello Steemies. My name is Sean and I am the owner operator of Liberty Worms LLC. We are just getting up and operational for business as a small worm farm in the Panhandle of Florida. We do several different species of compost worms, mealworms and superworms . I will be writing about not only the reasons for me to do them but also how I do them successfully and the equipment I use from worm bins, tumbler composters to prepare the feed stock, paper shredders and different types of soil testers.

I live on a small 10 acres homestead with cows, goats, hogs, chickens and rabbits.

As masters in the worm game, they're already sharing tips so you'll want to follow them for more information! Here is a post about aerating your worm bin, a very important step!

Stop by their blog, give them an upvote, comment, and follow to learn more about taking care of worms and their homestead life!

Also, @sagescrub is giving away elecampane seeds, so contact him if interested!

I have an abundance of Elecampane seeds which I acquired last year from two friends who were growing it. Way more than I need to get a some plants started for myself this year.

I have been using tea and tincture of the Elecampane root as an expectorant and anti viral for my lungs. Elecampane root has tons of beneficial qualities but it is best known for its qualities of healing the lungs.

This week, we're starting off with a fantastic, detailed post by @eaglespirit, Creating A Basic Medicine Pouch.

In this post, she walks us through the basics of creating a medicine pouch; what they're used for, what to put in them and why and many other must-have details! This is a gem of a post and you wont want to miss it! Thanks @eaglespirit for sharing your traditions with us in this way.

Next we have an inspiring post from @goldendawne, It's Ginger Time! Sowing The Nodes & Learning More About This "Spicy" Root.

She's growing ginger indoors this year and shares the basics of how to get started! If you've ever been curious about growing ginger at home, give this post a read! Thanks @goldendawne!

@carpedimus gives us the next great post, Grow Your Own Herbs! 🌱 🍀 🌿- DIY Guide for The Simplest Hydroponic System you CAN make at home for Under 20$.

We love how he is making hyrdoponics simple for the rest of us! This is a fantastic, detailed post sharing his hard-earned knowledge! You wont want to miss out if you've wondered how to do this. Thanks @cardpedimus!

@blackberryrun shares a great post with us this week, 10 Things To Do Before Buying Your Dream Homestead Property.

Have you considered taking the leap to start homesteading? They run us through a fantastic check-list of the things to think through before choosing a piece of land where you will land your dreams. We've gone through this process and this list is seriously good! Thanks @blackberryrun!

Next up we have a fun post full of adventure from @frejafri, 2 months living free simple life in hippie Caves in Crete!

Here @the-hearth, we're all about promoting earth-centered living and this is exactly what she and her friends have done living in these Caves in Crete. Read her post for a fantastic story of living in these caves for 2 months. Very enjoyable post; thanks @frejafri!

Next up @haphazard-hstead shares a fun and educational post with us, Beer Review [5]: Gluten-Free Beer? With Lentils? Olallie Blackberry Rose Hip Ale from Ground Breaker Brewing in Portland, OR!

Do you drink beer? We do! And we're always interested in obscure or cutting-edge beers. In this post, he details some cool new beers; one made from lentils! Check out the post for more details. Thanks @haphazard-hstead!

Last but certainly not least, we have a post by @eco-alex wrapping up all the this week's Ecotrain Question of the week, What Is Matriarchy? What do you think a matriarchal society would look like?!

If you have a knee-jerk reaction thinking that Matriarchy is just the opposite of Patriarchy where women will rule, please do yourself a favor and read through some of these thoughtful and enlightening posts. Definitely a complex and thought-provoking subject, we've really been bringing the heat these last few weeks on the #ecotrain! Please also feel free to engage in the discussion and make your own post on it! Thanks to all the members of the @ecotrain!

Thank you for reading through these posts! Please go to these posts and upvote them and follow their authors for more great content!

We started this curation project to boost fantastic posts that educate and uplift humanity’s relationship with the earth.
Thanks to everyone who continually produces great quality content! Your efforts matter!
Spread the word about our page to gardeners and non-gardeners alike and, if you feel called, feel free to donate or delegate to support our project. All SP gets powered up to make our vote more powerful to boost your posts!!

Remember, you can tag @the-hearth if you come across an original and high-quality post during the week. Thanks to @ginabot, we will know!

@the-hearth is @mountainjewel's love offering to Steemit, the earth and our fellow humans. This homesteading duo's life mission is to enliven and raise consciousness around earth-centered living and being stewards of the earth. We really appreciate your support.