Homesteading Archives - Page 18 of 36 - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

Are Grow Lights Worth it?

For those that have outdoor gardens, the thought of growing food indoors with artificial lights can seem like a ludicrous concept. Providing your plants with access to the maximum amount of possible sunlight is a basic strategy for increasing growth, and the sun is free. Purchasing and the operation of grow lights costs money, and gardening should save you money and provide you with resources, not cost money and use resources. So, are grow lights worth their cost and the cost of their operation? Not to try to skirt the question, but it depends. If you live in an […]

How to Choose Your Bug Out Spot

If you’re not yet homesteading and would like to be more prepared for survival situations, you naturally want to have a bug out location ready just in case something happens. However, not just any spot will do. If the world starts to go south, you need to have a good and secure location that you can retreat to and where you will be able to survive for as long as needed. You have to put in some thought when it comes to choosing the location. You have to think about the security of that location for starters. How easy is […]

Keep Your Chicken Coop Clean

When you are a homesteader, you likely have livestock. One of the most common types of livestock to keep is chickens. You can use them for their eggs, as well as their meat, if needed. Building or buying a chicken coop and raising chickens is relatively easy if you put in some time and effort to learn more about what you are doing. One of the most important aspects of keeping your chickens nice and healthy though is to keep the chicken coop clean. A dirty coop will lead to disease and other problems with your chickens. Fortunately, keeping your […]

DIY Winch (Video)

This video demonstrates and explains how you can make a powerful winch from only a rope and two strong cuts of wood. This can be used to remove a stump as the video shows, free a stuck vehicle, or assist in safely felling a tree in a direction you choose. The technique is easiest with two people, so that someone is holding each piece of wood at all times for safety, but you can also use two stakes if you are by yourself. The stakes should be placed in-line, perpendicular to the object being moved, and on the side […]

Pineapple

Pineapples are a fruit that requires some patience to grow, but not much else. If you buy pineapples from the store and have a spare container lying around you already have everything you need to grow your own pineapples. Here are some simple instructions for how you can grow delicious pineapples in your backyard garden. When you cut up a pineapple to eat it, save the top section with leaves. Remove all of the sweet flesh from the top, any leftover flesh will rot while you are trying to root it and will hinder the rooting process. Place […]

Learn DIY Repair for the Homestead

If you are a homesteader, you need to invest time and effort in learning to do quite a few things that you may never have imagined yourself doing. In addition to taking care of livestock, growing food, and hunting for food, you also need to take care of many repairs around the house. When you have a piece of property, large or small, things are going to go wrong. You will eventually need to have repairs. People are not born as a jack of all trades who know how to fix everything. It is accumulated knowledge, and everyone needs to […]

Are You Making Prepper Mistakes?

If you are into learning how to survive and prepping, you read as much as you can on the subject, and you are generally willing to work hard to make sure you have everything you need when it comes to living after the SHTF. Of course, many out there do not take any steps beyond buying some “cool” and interesting gear, some freeze-dried food, and maybe some water. Those who fall into this latter category could be making some serious prepper mistakes. One of the big issues is people buying supplies and then never bothering to rotate through them. If […]

Cats as Pest Control on the Homestead

Homesteaders often find that they are at odds with a range of different pests, including rodents. You can find different methods to use when it comes to controlling those rodents. Some might use traps, while others might use poison. This tends to be a losing battle though. The traps are not likely to kill as many mice or rats as you have, and the poison could end up hurting your other animals or even getting into your food supply somehow. Using Barn Cats One of the best natural and truly organic ways to deal with your mouse problem is […]

Be Aware of Bears on Your Property

When you are homesteading, and living out in a rural area, you need to contend with all the wild animals that also happen to live in that location. You could have coyotes, foxes, and plenty of other critters that might want to get up to no good on your property. However, some that can be particularly dangerous and ornery given the right circumstances, are bears. All bears have the potential to be dangerous, and you need to do some things that will help dissuade them from coming onto your property. Here are some tips. First, you need to make sure […]

Survival Skills You Need Now

Do you have all the survival skills you need? Would you be able to survive if the world as we know it were to implode tomorrow? While you might have some skills that others are lacking, you might not have everything you need to survive. Just because you know how to read a compass and fire a rifle doesn’t mean you are going to live. You need to start acquiring more skills, and you need to start sooner rather than later. Medical training is very important. You don’t have to become a doctor or a nurse, but you should learn […]

Wheatgrass

This time of year, even those that are living in a warmer zone are experiencing declining harvests in the garden. Adding a layer of protection can help, but if you haven’t already done this it’s a little too late. The good news is that even if you haven’t protected your crops from the cold, or even if you haven’t started a garden at all yet, you can still enjoy the health benefits of dark leafy greens this time of year thanks to wheatgrass. Here are some of the nutritional facts, and basic growing and harvesting instructions for wheatgrass. If […]

Better Beans for Your Garden

Gardening is a part of homesteading, and one of the best types of vegetables to grow is beans. They are a healthy choice and you have plenty of options. Green beans, for example, taste great fresh and raw, as well as cooked. It is possible to can them and save them, and you will find that they are a great, healthy side for just about anything you are cooking. Of course, you can’t forget the deliciousness of a green bean casserole, too. However, if you want to have a great yield of healthy beans, you need to know how to […]

5 Things you Should NOT Compost

Since compost is the primary soil amendment (other than mulch since every garden should be mulched) in back yard gardens, it can be tempting to compost everything you can so that you can give the most back to your garden. While this is true for the most part, there are things that you should not be composting and could have an adverse effect upon your garden or your health. Here are 5 such items. Meat It’s a shame to waste food, especially meat which costs much more than other foods, but it’s better to feed meat that has […]

Growing Calories for Survival

One of the biggest reasons people want to homestead in this day and age is to be prepared for some kind of disaster. But what should you grow that would actually help you survive? Obviously, you will need food, and not just edibles, but calories. And rows and rows of herbs and kale are probably healthy, but they’re not going to keep you alive for very long. You need dense calories, high yields, and hearty crops that can grow through winter. Potatoes are an ideal long-term survival plant. You can grow them discreetly, they are high in carbohydrates and calories, and keep […]

Root Cellar Storm Shelter (Video)

I love things that have multiple purposes, and this root cellar storm shelter really takes the cake. A root cellar is definitely on the top of my list of features on a dream homestead, and for many locations in the US, having a root cellar that could double as a storm shelter is beyond ideal. We get more and more crazy every year, and no matter where you live, it’s very important to have a secure location that you can weather the storm out from. Not only will this underground root cellar and shelter provide safety and security, it would […]

Getting To Know Your Homestead Neighbors

When you move into a new homestead and begin to settle down, you certainly have quite a few things on your mind and on your plate. You are making sure that the planting is done, the livestock is settling in and that the house is running efficiently. Even though you might love the idea of being completely on your own, you should still take the time and put in the effort to meet your neighbors. It is always an enlightening experience, and it could be very beneficial to you. Head out and meet the neighbors, whether they are just down […]

Tips for Growing More Apples

Apples are one of the most popular fruits, pretty much everyone loves an apple. But they aren’t always easy to grow, at least not successfully. Here are a few tips to increase the quality and quantity of your apple yields. Young apple trees are much more susceptible to damage from disease and the wind. Protect young trees by supporting them with trellis or tree stakes (that are wide enough that they do not impact that roots) to protect them from wind damage, and removing all blossoms in wet weather to protect them from diseases like fire blight. If […]

Defensive Gardening

Most gardeners have some sort of a pest problem from time to time. It can be difficult to keep unwanted guests out of your garden. So most people don’t think about gardening as a way to keep would-be-burglars out of their home. With proper plant selection and placement, you can greatly increase the security of your home while increasing the beauty of your yard. Here are a few examples of plants that can be used effectively as a means of defense. Firethorn As the name suggests, you don’t want to get stuck by this plant which is covered […]

How to Make Mud Bricks (Video)

You probably know by now I’m a fan of all kinds of pre-industrial skills, and making mud bricks from mud and straw is one of the coolest skills for a homesteader to know. It might not be the most practical way to obtain bricks in our modern life, as they’re pretty labor-intensive, but it is a pretty foundational thing to know. You never know when you might be able to benefit from the basics of brick-making. After all, when you buy them from the hardware store, they have been made from hand somewhere, and there are still low-wage workers in third-world countries […]

You Need to Clean Your Chimney

When you live on a homestead, chances are good that you keep your place warm using a fireplace or a wood burning stove. They are important for your warmth in the winter, and you can even use them for cooking. However, they get dirty and need to be cleaned. Naturally, many people gravitate toward having the professionals come out and clean the chimney for them. Having it cleaned a couple of times a year might be necessary if you have fires often. Of course, when you are hiring others to do this job, the money just leaks from your pocket. […]