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Maggot Dispenser=FREE Chicken Feed (Video)

Wait! Don’t get grossed out. This is the “circle of life” at it’s very finest, trust me! I really love this YouTube channel, because not only is this family really rocking the homestead life, they’re doing it with all their kids, and posting it on YouTube for all of us to see. And this idea they came up with to feed maggots to chickens is brilliant. I think we’ve been programmed to think that chickens only want grains, but in reality, they’re carnivores who love bugs. Maggots are like juicy steaks to them! Check out this super cool video of […]

A Simple Guide to Dehydrating Mushrooms

We posted recently about foraging for wild mushrooms and how to identify them. One great reason to forage for wild mushrooms is to stock up on them and keep them around for cooking or even as part of your survival food cache. But how do you store them? Dehydrating is the best method for mushrooms, and often, when you find them in the grocery store, this is how they have been processed. It’s very simple and easy to dehydrate mushrooms, here’s how: Collect the mushrooms you’d like to process. Literally any variety will do, but of course, you’ll probably want […]

Money Saving Tips for Homesteaders

Homesteaders tend to like to save money, and they are always on the lookout for new and easy ways to keep a few extra dollars in their pocket. It isn’t because they are cheap; they are smart. They know that in many cases, they are throwing away good money on things that they could instead do themselves. Here are a few very simple tips that could help you to save some money as a homesteader. Take a moment to think about how much money you and your family spend on haircuts each year. Chances are, you spend several hundred dollars […]

The Amazing Power of Lavender Essential Oil

Essential oils are amazing. They’re a super natural and effective way to treat a multitude of health issues and even clean and sanitize your home, and they can be used to replace a ton of different OTC meds and chemical cleaners and solutions. But if I had to pick one essential oil to be stranded on a desert island with, it would probably have to be lavender oil. Not only does it smell absolutely amazing, it has a bunch of great uses, and is one of the safest essential oils there is. Here is an idea of the many things […]

Top Five Reasons to Homestead (Wherever You Are)

“Homesteading” typically means living on a homestead, raising animals and growing your own food, and being independent and self-sufficient. As the global economy seems to teter on the brink of total collapse, modern life becomes more and more reliant on large-scale grids subject to fail, and urban environments are becoming increasingly dangerous, more and more people are becoming drawn to the idea of homesteading. Now, as we’ve often discussed, you don’t need to own your own land to homestead. There are many ways you can homestead right where you are. And here are the top five reasons why you should […]

Beer Keg Portable Hot Shower (Video)

When I lived completely off-grid, with no running water or electricity, one of the biggest challenges was a hot shower. Paloma hot water heaters were coveted in the community I lived in, but most off-grid tent-dwelling hippies like myself couldn’t afford them. We tried everything. Sun showers, leaving long black hoses out in the sun, boiling water and pouring it with just the right mix of cold water into a water container with a spigot. But a lot of these options had us often feeling like Goldilocks-nothing was every quite right. I saw this video on YouTube recently from the […]

Back to Eden Gardening Explained

Last week, we shared a video from YouTubers Deep South Homestead of their “Back to Nature” gardening method that they improvised themselves. They got this idea after they tried the Back to Eden gardening method with poor results. This method of gardening may have failed in their area for any number of reasons and their improvisation was clever. The Back to Eden gardening method is still worth a try in your area, and is a very clever and natural way of starting a garden. It’s a bit like lasagna gardening in that you are building your own soil, and start in the fall […]

Homesteading Before Having a Homestead

You might be wondering about the title. How is it possible to start becoming a homesteader before you have land and an actual homestead? It is easier than you might think and it is actually a good idea to do this before you buy a large plot of land. This simply means that you are starting to learn some of the skills you will need as a homesteader, if you do not already know them. It also means that you will be implementing some of these elements into your current lifestyle. You need to start thinking about the different ways […]

Awesome Compostables You Probably Already Have at Home

Composting is awesome. You can create your own amazing humus right in your backyard, and there’s just nothing quite as nutritious for your soil as well-composed, beautiful homemade compost. Once you start composting, you might find you view your kitchen and home as a veritable goldmine! You might not be familiar with how many everyday items that you just toss in the trash or recycling bin every day can help you build a healthy, well-fed compost pile. We’ve put together a list of great compostables you probably already have in your kitchen, home, or on your property, that you can collect, […]

A Simple Guide to Raising Meat Rabbits

Most people think of rabbits as being adorable, quiet pets, but they’re actually great to raise for meat as well. They don’t require a lot of space, aren’t too expensive to feed, and well, breed like bunnies. If you’re interested in raising rabbits for meat, here are a few considerations: Laws First of all, check your local laws on slaughtering rabbits, and to see if you can legally raise them in your area for meat. There are some states and counties in which you could be reported for animal cruelty since they are considered pets, so just make sure before […]

The Easiest Way to Skim Raw Milk

A cold glass of fresh milk is a delicious, wholesome treat. If it’s non-homogenized, the higher-fat cream will naturally separate from the milk to be skimmed for butter, whipped cream, or to splash into a hot cup of coffee. The traditional skimming process, however, is a tedious repetition of scooping out the cream ladle after ladle (and sometimes spoonful after spoonful). If this setback has kept you from enjoying the bliss of fresh cream, here is an incredibly easy method to try using a siphon. Supplies: A clothespin (the kind with the metal spring) 1 Vinyl Tube, ¼” or more […]

DIY Home Energy Independence

One of the biggest draws towards homesteading is trying to achieve energy independence. It sure is rough out there today. Electricity costs are soaring and you probably know the feeling of dread that comes over you each time you open up an energy bill. Well, it actually is possible to be completely energy-independent, and never pay an electric bill again. I’m not even kidding. This incredible video explains how, and really blew my mind! If you’re sick of being beholden to big energy corporations that fleece you monthly, and tired of shivering through winter and sweating through summer just to […]

Mushroom Foraging for Beginners

Have you ever been tempted to try a wild mushroom but were too afraid? Everyone has an urban legend to share about a well-meaning hiker who ate a benign-looking wild mushroom and paid dearly for it. Undoubtedly, mushroom foraging is something of a science and deserves as much research before trying as gardening or raising livestock. Thankfully, there are a few foolproof (and tasty) species for beginners to sharpen their identification skills. There are thousands of species of mushrooms in North America alone, ranging from delicious or medicinal to nontoxic to poisonous. Here are a few starter tips to consider […]

A Simple Guide to Starting a Beehive (Video)

Last week, we shared the very cool idea to make a beehive using mason jars, so since it did not come with instructions as to how to actually start a hive, I thought I’d go ahead and follow up with that one. Bees are a wonderful thing to do on the homestead, or even in your backyard, if you’re able to. Raw honey is one of the most valuable and nutritious substances on the planet, so raising bees is a space and time efficient way to produce food on a small scale, and a wonderful addition to any homestead or self-sufficiency […]

Where to Get Free Buckets

You will never run out of uses for buckets on the homestead. You can use them to carry water, feed, dirt, rocks, even your harvest from the garden or eggs from the hen house (if you have enough!). 5-Gallon buckets are one of the essentials of homestead or garden life, and you may have experienced this already. Trouble is, it seems like the more uses you find for them, the less you seem to have! While 5-gallon buckets are sturdy, it is possible to break them as well (quick tip: it’s important to keep them out of the sun and […]

How to Bake Bread in a Toaster Oven

It’s great having fresh baked bread every day, and while one of the wonderful things about homemade bread is that it contains no chemicals or preservatives, it also doesn’t stay fresh very long. Also, if you live in a warm place or somewhere with high energy costs, you might not want to heat your whole house up every day just to have fresh bread. The solution? Baking bread in your toaster oven. It’s totally possible, and works great! Here’s how: On the weekend, make yourself a large batch of dough. You will probably want to double or triple your regular […]

Hunt for Your Meat

If you are a homesteader, you have probably spent quite a bit of time trying to determine just how much food you can grow on your property. While growing your veggies and fruit, and canning them, is great, most people will also want to have meat on the table. You may have some livestock that you can use, such as chickens. However, the best way to get more meat is to start hunting. Take the time to see what animals are in your area and the times of the hunting seasons. Common animals to hunt include deer, boar, ducks, quail, […]

Growing Cauliflower in a Container

Cauliflower is a great vegetable. It’s nutritious, delicious, and has grown in popularity in recent years since it makes a great base for many grain-free dishes. If you’d like to grow your own, you don’t need a garden to do it; cauliflower can be grown in a container, if you follow the right steps. First of all, cauliflower needs really high-condition soil. Use premium potting soil and loamy, well-amended soil to plant it in. You can direct sow in the container or start in 2″ pots and transplant after it’s sprouted. To choose a container, you’ll need something that is […]

Companion Planting: A Simple Guide (Infographic)

Companion planting can be kind of confusing. If something goes well together, does that mean it might not go well next to another plant? Companion planting is really important to understand and utilize, because you can really maximize space, productivity, and also repel pests, with the right combination. It is also true, however, that planting “bad neighbors” together might result in increased pests or unhappy plants. There are a ton of potential good combinations out there, but it’s good to know the bad ones too, so you can prevent unhappy neighbors! This great little infographic for visual learners like myself, […]

How to Test Your Soil Using Only a Mason Jar

When starting a garden, it’s crucial to know what kind of soil you’re working with. It will help you determine what to plant and how to amend your soil. All soil is comprised of three basic components: sand, silt, and clay, and varying combinations of these three components determine what type of soil you have. Loamy soil is ideal, and it is typically more or less an even mix of sand, silt, and clay. It is slightly spongy and moist, but still light enough that it doesn’t get packed down too easily. In essence, it’s just right. To achieve this […]