Homesteading Archives - Page 31 of 36 - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

How to Use Fall Leaves

This time of year many of us are going to have a layer of leaves all over the lawn. Many people simply rake and bag them to put on the street for the trash men to pick up, others will even pay someone else to do this. But there are more options for what to do with this fantastic free garden resource. Fall Mulch Mulching with leaves can have a drastic impact on your garden’s soil mineral content. Not only do the leaves of many deciduous trees have an NPK of around .5, .1, .5, but they also have calcium, […]

Are Vertical Farms The Future Of Agriculture?

When space is tight and the demand for food is high, vertical farms might be the best answer. Check out this piece from PBS on the subject. Here are some fun facts about vertical farms. If you are interested in building your own vertical farm, https://homesteaderdepot.com/supports-for-vertical-gardens-infographic/here are some alternative or unique supports you could use to get started. How to get started with Aquaponics. Other things your might like… Advanced Gardening Course To Accelerate Your Food Production… A to Z Survival Medicine & Wilderness Survival… Traditional Survival Techniques From Long Ago, Re-purposed For The Modern Era… The Ultimate Natural Medicine […]

Tips for Making Your Own Crispy Pickles

Do you and your family love the taste of fresh crunchy pickles? If you do, and you are a homesteader, you have probably been trying to make your own pickles. It is not a difficult process, but you might’ve found that pickles you’ve made don’t quite have the same snap and crunch that you really like. Fortunately, you don’t have to live with soggy, bendy pickles for much longer. Just use the tips that follow and you will find that your pickles will have a much more significant crunch. One of the first things you want to do is make […]

Homestead (and Life) Lessons From the Great Depression

The Great Depression was one of the most harrowing periods of history in our country, and there are many lessons we can take from it. It dramatically changed our economy, our government, our agriculture and our people. We made it through the recent Great Recession with far less damage than the Great Depression, but the possibility of something far worse seems to be constantly looming on the horizon and it’s hard to imagine we’d be prepared the way our resourceful ancestors were. The thing is, life has changed so much since the 20’s and 30’s, and we have become far […]

Benefits of Bees for Homesteads

Bees can be greatly beneficial to the homestead. Becoming a beekeeper requires some knowledge, but it is still relatively simple to get into the field. Once you start to look at beekeeping, you will see that bees can provide a number of wonderful benefits. If you have a large garden that is meant to feed you and your entire family, then you need to make sure everything is pollinated properly. Same is true if you have some fruit trees on your property as well. By having bees on the property, you can ensure the pollination and fertilization of various crops. […]

Tips for Repelling Ticks

If you have to live in the woods, you’re probably very familiar with ticks. They are not a fun creature deal with, and they can cause Lyme disease. Whether you’re trying to protect yourself, your children, or pets, you need to have some tips for making sure you can keep ticks at bay. Garlic is said to work quite well at repelling ticks. However, you probably don’t want rub garlic all over yourself. Eating garlic or garlic pills can provide the same results though. Something to remember is that garlic is not good for pets such as dogs and cats. […]

Best Perennial Vegetables to Grow

If you are a new homesteader, one of the first things you want to think about when creating your plan is what vegetables you will be growing. You want to be as self-sufficient as possible, and that means growing and raising as much of your own food as possible. Of course, those who are new might not know what some of the best perennial vegetables are to plant. Asparagus One of the nice things about asparagus is that it is extremely durable as a crop. It also happens to be one of the first vegetables that you can harvest during […]

Tips for Weeding the Garden

Having a garden is a lot of work, and a big part of that work is weeding it. If you don’t weed the garden, those weeds can end up choking out the vegetable plants, or any other plants you want to grow. They take the nutrients that your plants need. However, if you are vigilant and are willing to spend time maintaining the garden each day, you have a much better chance of combating weeds effectively. One of the first things you want to do is make sure that you aerate the soil. You can do this with a specialized […]

Garden Calendar (Infographic)

I came across this great infographic on Pinterest today for what needs to be done in the garden during each month. Given we have Fall and Winter well on the way I thought it was perfect for this time of year. Not only for what to do in the garden as the seasons are changing but also because winter is a great time to start planning next year’s garden. As the weather gets cool and you harvest your summer crops, it’s the perfect time to think about next year’s garden. Garden journals are great for this: you can write down […]

How to Kill Microbes

How often do you think about microbes and other types of infectious pathogens? If you are learning to survive and trying to be more self-sufficient, then you might think about this more than the average person. Still, you may not understand how to deal with these types of infectious pathogens and microbes properly. In many cases, utilizing things such as antibiotics and antimicrobials will work to deal with microbes. In fact, you can find quite a few items in the store, including a variety of name brand cleaners, that have antimicrobial properties. Of course, if you only rely on these […]

3 Reasons Why Ducks Are Better Than Chickens

When most people think of animals for their back yard they quickly think of chickens. And while there is good reason so many people think to raise chickens, there are also reasons why ducks may be the preferable livestock for your backyard farm. Ducks don’t crow Not everyone starting their homestead has 15 acres in the country. Some may have less than an acre with neighbors right next to them that don’t share their passion for raising animals and growing food. Keeping this in mind, it is not hard to think of how a rooster could degrade the relationship one […]

The Benefits of Solar Water Heaters

As the cost of energy rises, more and more people are looking toward solar power. One of the areas that interest them the most is solar water heating. While it can seem more expensive in the beginning, utilizing a solar water heater has the potential to provide you with a substantial amount of saved money in the long run. In addition, this will help to get you entirely off the grid. There are two different types of solar water heaters available – active and passive. The active systems use cells, pumps, and controllers as they move fluid through the system. […]

Storing Potatoes for Winter

Potatoes are one of the best crops you can grow! Nutritious, substantial sources of food, they also keep well over the winter, if you know how to store them right. Whether you’ve been growing them and would like to do a big harvest to keep them all over the winter, or you’re buying them in bulk from the farmer’s market before it closes from the winter, it’s important to use the best storage practices so they don’t rot or sprout through the winter months. Potatoes are wonderful for hearty winter dishes so it’s imperative to store them well! Here are a few […]

Easy Perennial Greens

Often we think of taking the easy way out as a bad thing, but in gardening it can be best way to do things. One example is perennial greens. After getting a perennial green started and established, your yield is going to increase for years. You will also not have down time in your garden while you wait for seeds to sprout, then to mature, and then go to seed again so you can get the next generation. Perennial greens also give you a chance to nurse an injured or sick plant back that you couldn’t do if it’s life […]

Canning Tips for Those Just Starting Out

You are a homesteader, then it typically means you have a garden. This means you are growing vegetables and fruit more than likely. You cannot eat all the food right away in most cases, so you want to can it to preserve it. There are some excellent benefits to canning in addition to having all that extra food in the house. One of the primary benefits is that you do not have to worry about any added chemicals to the food. In addition, it tends to taste quite a bit better than commercial canned food. It is also quite a […]

What Items Should You Never Compost?

Composting is something that every homesteader should do. It allows you to recycle food and other material and to create richer soil at the same time. However, there are only some items that you should not add to the compost pile. Let’s look at some of the elements that you should not add to the compost pile, as well as the reasons why. Never put any meat scraps into the compost pile. The same goes for bones. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, it has the potential to attract vermin. In addition, it is going to cause […]

Super-Simple DIY Pest Repellent for the Garden

As you probably know, most commercially available pest-repellants are full of harmful chemicals that you wouldn’t want anywhere near your house, children, or pets, let alone near the garden that you’re growing your food in. Even if you don’t spray chemicals right on the leaves of your plants, spraying them around the perimeter, either to kill grass, weeds or bugs, will trickle into the soil and can easily be absorbed through the roots of your plants, and you don’t want that. But there is a very easy, at-home solution for keeping pests out of your garden, and it’s safe enough […]

Simple Steps Towards Self-Reliance

If you’re homesteading, you’re probably already pretty self-reliant. But if you’re not and you wish you were, there are still many ways you can become more self-reliant, no matter where you’re living. Every little thing you can do counts, and also will help you assess just how much you rely on “the system” and what you can do to change that. Here are a few simple ideas to reduce your dependence on, say, multi-national corporations or globalized trade, and more on yourself and the resources that are available in your community. It might be called “self” reliance, but really, relying […]

The Cost-Effectiveness of Homestead Pigs

A lot of people don’t like pigs because they’re stinky, dirty and loud. But most people won’t object to bacon, ribs or pork chops. And this is a pretty good reason to have pigs, and why most people raise them! Not only are pigs delicious, however, they are also very cost-effective sources of meat, especially if you are looking to be more or totally self-sufficient. Larger meat animals like cows need a lot of space, and smaller meat animals don’t yield anywhere near as much meat. But pigs are just perfect! Here are some reasons why they are economical choices […]

How to Make Goat Cheese

Goats are such wonderful homestead animals, for many reasons, but of course, at the top that list is plenty of fresh, raw, delicious goat cheese! Goat cheese is great not only because it is delicious and nutritious, but if you do have goats, you probably also have lots of extra milk. Making your own cheese can be a great way to use it up, and you can even sell it at the farmer’s market or right out of your homestead-goat cheese has gotten very popular in recent years and many folks are willing to pay top dollar for fresh, local, […]