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Seed Saving Tips

It’s getting to the point that fruiting vegetables will no longer be producing this year, and time to starting thinking about next year’s crop. Purchasing seeds every year will quickly add up, and many of the crops that are commonly grown produce seeds that can be collected and saved for next year. Here are some tips for saving money on next year’s garden by collecting seeds this year. Bolting Vegetables Allow some of your greens to bolt this time of year so that you can get their seeds. Don’t harvest the seeds to early, wait for the leaves to […]

DIY Homebirth Kit (Video)

If you are a homesteader, you are probably more interested in the natural way of life. Organic food, natural homebrewed remedies, grassfed meat, etc. So you are probably already sold on the idea of homebirth, if you are planning your family. Homebirth is a wonderful way to give birth to a child. You are comfortable, in your own, familiar space, surrounded by your family and friends and in the quiet and calm of your own home rather than the loud bustle of a hospital labor and delivery room. However, even if you are not planning on a homebirth, if you […]

Stock Your Fishing Pond

If you have a pond on your property, or you are considering building a man-made pond for the property, you might want to stock it with fish. First, you need to make sure that it is capable of sustaining fish though. You must create a pond that is as natural as possible, so it has the right level of oxygen to sustain fish. Keep in mind that ponds that are too shallow will not have enough oxygen in them over the winter, and the fish will die. When stocking a pond, you need to make sure that you are using […]

Oil Pulling and Tongue Scraping (Infographic)

Dental pain or troubling issues can sometimes be worse than anything else. And getting to the dentist, especially if you live out in the country, can be a pain, and expensive. Taking good care of your teeth and dental health is of the utmost importance, but you don’t need fancy electric toothbrushes and flouride mouthwash to do so. Oil pulling is an increasingly popular dental hygiene habit that may be good for you to consider, especially if you are having any dental issues like bleeding gums, cavities, or bad breath. And it can help with much more, too! It sounds pretty […]

DIY Beeswax Candles (Video)

Beeswax candles are a really fun indoor activity for wintertime, and a great skill for homesteading. Beeswax is one principal motivation for keeping bees, and you can use the wax to make crafts like homemade candles that will do very well at farmer’s markets or perhaps an Etsy shop. You can add essential oils or even herbs for a lovely, all-natural aroma that is far better than a toxic parafin candle with perfumes and dyes. But even if you don’t keep bees, you can find organic beeswax at your local health food store or online and make lovely homemade candles to […]

Stay Safe on the Homestead

People eventually get into a routine. They do things without thinking about it because they’ve done them so many times in the past. This happens in every aspect of life, and the homestead is certainly not immune. However, this has the potential to be quite problematic, as it doesn’t exactly promote safety. If you aren’t careful, you could make some dangerous or costly mistakes. The following are a couple of simple tips you will want to employ to help reduce the risks. First, you always need to understand the dangers of any equipment used on the homestead. This includes mowers, […]

Indoor Pets for Your Outdoor Garden

Unfortunately, some people just can’t see the benefit of backyard chickens, and they can’t let others be. You may live in an area that doesn’t allow for livestock such as chickens and have neighbors that have a lack of appreciation for self-reliance and fresh food. But does that mean that you have to buy manure? Or that you can’t raise animals for meat? Not necessarily. You could raise animals indoors or in discreet cages, animals such as guinea pigs or rabbits. If you are wanting meat, rabbits are the obvious choice because of their superior ability to […]

8 Simple Ways to Earn Money From Homesteading

Homesteading is sustainable, self-sufficient and rewarding. But it’s also not free! Unfortunately, in our modern economy, there’s so much more involved in running a homestead than simply working the land and feeding your family. Especially if you are a new homesteader, costs can pile up and it can really help to find a way to not just save money by homesteading, but earn money back on your hard work and labor. Even if you are an urban homesteader, there are still many creative ways you can earn money from homesteading! Here is a list of some of the easiest ways […]

How to Build a Potato Tower

Potato towers are a way to grow more potatoes in a smaller area by growing vertical. There are a variety of techniques to build potato towers using different materials but the basic principles are the same. This article will describe how to build a potato tower using fencing or hardware cloth. You will need some hog wire, no climb fence, or hardware cloth that is 4 feet tall and at least 6 feet long, at least 2 stakes to support the fencing but preferably 4, wire or zip ties to secure the fencing to the stakes, compost, straw, […]

Growing Onions from Onions

If you are looking through a seed catalogue or a selection at your local gardening store, it is not at all unusual to see onion seeds. That being said it is a little unusual for most people to be able to grow onions with any real rate of success from seeds. The germination rate is not very high, thinning them can be difficult because of their shallow roots, and they grow so slow that it is hard to mulch them without smothering them and hard to keep them moist without mulch. It is much easier to simply grow onions from […]

Learn to Milk a Goat

Most homesteaders are told that they need to add some livestock to their property, and that goats are a great addition. After all, goats can provide milk and they take up far less space than a cow. Of course, those who are new to homesteading probably don’t have a clue as to how they can milk a goat. When you start raising goats, you want to learn everything possible about them; the bucks, the does, raising the kids, and certainly how to milk them. The following are a couple of milking tips to help you get started. You should milk […]

Keeping Toxins Out of the Garden

Having a garden and growing your own vegetables and herbs can be a great way to stay healthy. It will undoubtedly increase the amount of fresh greens in your diet, provide you with safe alternative to treat illness, and for most it will give them more time out in the fresh air. But if your garden is full of toxins, then the plants will inevitably contain toxins, and ultimately you will consume these toxins and be in a worse state then if you hadn’t had spent all that time and energy growing unhealthy foods. Here are a few tips […]

Great Depression Era Dandelion Salad (Video)

I found this awesome YouTube channel recently called “Great Depression Cooking”, which features a 94-year-old woman, Clara, going through common recipes used during the Great Depression. I thought this particular video on dandelion salad was great for homesteaders to know, or anyone really, because it’s simple, nutritious, and almost everyone has dandelion growing in their yard or nearby their house. I think my favorite part of this video, however, is watching Clara carefully pick and clean the dandelion, explaining that it’s free, and all it takes is patience. It made me think about how much more work people used to […]

Companion Planting Overview

Gardeners are often described as an optimistic group of people. No doubt, with each seed or plant that gardeners put into the soil, they hope to have something to harvest later in the season. A variety of factors go into growing a successful garden that yields a bountiful harvest. Some variables, such as the weather, are beyond a gardener’s control. On the other hand, there are numerous growing tips and techniques that can help your garden produce a bumper crop of vegetables. Companion planting is one of those techniques. Native Americans planted what is referred to as “three sisters” gardens. […]

Questions About Woodchips

After writing several articles in which I proclaimed the various, near-miraculous benefits of wood chips a handful of people commented with questions. These questions are common judging by online comments and video or article titles that are about wood chips. I’ll try to answer those questions here with what I have found in my research and personal experience. What Woodchips are Best? People often wonder what wood chips offer the most benefits to their garden. In my opinion, it’s the ones that are free. If you have an unlimited budget to go out and pay for your preference of […]

Banana Peels in the Garden

Bananas are an awesome food. They taste great, help with muscular recovery, and come packaged in fertilizer. That peel that your banana comes in is itself food, for your garden. If you have a compost pile you are probably already adding your kitchen waste, but if you are like most people you slack on taking it out if it’s cold, or wet, or late, and so forth. But after looking at some of the benefits banana peels provide to your garden you might be a little more willing to make an effort to be strict in your peel collection for […]

Oil Lamps (Video)

I love YouTuber Becky’s Homestead. She’s got great videos of her various projects and she’s quite impressive, she built her own cabin, by hand, herself! She has lots of animals, an impressive garden and tons of experience. I was browsing her channel recently and found this great video on oil lamps. Oil lamps are a great way to light your off-grid home at night. If you have some or no electricity, they can light up and even warm up a room, plus they’re old-timey and romantic looking! Check out this video for some oil lamp inspiration: Natural Healing Techniques Doctors […]

Raised Beds from Pallets

If you have purchased lumber to build raised beds then you know how quickly it can get expensive. And not only the lumber, but the hardware like screws or nails to put it together. It all adds up and it adds up fast. But there is no need to spend your money on materials that are available for free. Follow these tips if you want to make raised beds for next to nothing. Find Pallets This step isn’t hard, businesses like Longs, Walgreen’s, Dollar General, and more, all receive the items that they sell on pallets. Some of these […]

Hot Beds

With winter closing in I’ve recently been talking a lot about getting your crops covered up to extend your growing season. But in some of the colder zones retaining what little heat is in your garden might not be enough, or you might not have the resources available to build a greenhouse or hoop house. So instead of concentrating on insulating the heat in, you might want to focus on increasing the amount of heat in your soil to begin with. This is usually referred to as a “hot bed”. Here are some tips on how to increase heat […]

Crock Pot Soap

Making soap at home is a great homestead skill to have. Not only can you make your own all-natural soaps using non-toxic ingredients and even herbs or flowers from your own garden, but you can save money and give your soap as gifts too! You can even make a little money on the side selling them at the farmer’s market or Etsy. At the very least, soap is a very important aspect of clean healthy living, especially when you’re off-grid. Crock pot soap is an awesome method for soapmaking, and I’ve been meaning to try it out myself. I found […]