Homesteading Archives - Page 9 of 36 - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

6 Tips for Successful Deck Gardening

Not everyone owns a sprawling homestead or has a large yard in which to garden, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of options for you to grow your own! Deck gardening is a great option for folks with limited gardening space, and you’d be surprised just how much you can grow on a deck. However, since a deck garden is first and foremost a container garden, there are some important tips to keep in mind to make your garden a success. Container gardening is a great option for anyone who can’t plant in the ground, for whatever reason, and […]

Keeping Your Harvest Year-Round (Infographic)

Whether you’re gardening or carefully shopping local and in season, the healthiest way to consume what you reap is to preserve it well so you can make the most of it! Produce turns quickly, but you can prolong the benefits of a fresh harvest with some smart planning and thinking ahead. There are so many great ways to preserve food, and this amazing infographic from Fix.com shows you how. We write a lot about food preservation here on Homestead Depot, but this infographic is a great guide to the overall concept of food preservation, and it gave me some great ideas! […]

Homemade Non-Toxic Daily Shower Spray

When it comes to the products you clean your shower with, it’s just as important to consider possible environmental toxins. While you might only think of dish soap or laundry detergent as coming into direct contact with your skin, hot showers can expose you to plenty of toxins if you’re cleaning with conventional products. Your epidermis, or skin, is the largest organ in your body, and in hot showers, your pores open up. If you’ve been cleaning with harsh toxins, they could be dissipating through the air and being absorbed directly into your skin. And you thought you were getting […]

Gardening Tips From Seasoned Gardeners

When you just get started with gardening, it can be easy to feel very overwhelmed! As a beginner, there’s so much to learn, and so many ways things can go wrong. But never fear–you can learn from those who have gone before you. We’ve got some great tips for beginner gardeners to help you beat the stress and have a flourishing, healthy garden in no time. Let’s begin! Ask for help Don’t be shy! Usually, seasoned gardeners love to talk gardening, so reach out and ask for help! People at your local nursery, in local gardening FB groups, or even community […]

Natural Remedies for Ear Infection (Infographic)

When springtime comes it brings many wonderful benefits, but one of the downsides of this season is it’s cold and flu season. And with colds and flus can unfortunately also come the dreaded ear infection. Small children are particularly vulnerable to ear infections, and most doctors will opt immediately for antibiotics. In many cases, this is definitely the best option, but it’s always worth it to try some natural remedies first. Antibiotics can wreak havoc on small children’s digestive system and immune system, so while they can be life-saving in many cases, it’s best to use them as a last […]

How to Make Compost the Easy Way (Video)

Everyone should be composting, especially if you’re gardening! It is so beneficial for your soil, environmentally responsible, and also an efficient way to cut down on waste in your home and garden. However, if you’ve tried and failed to build your own compost bins or piles, you might need a few shortcuts. John from GrowYourGreens.com and Learn Organic Gardening on YouTube was in that boat, and shares how he ended up settling on the easier way to compost. Check it out! If you enjoyed this, you might also like…. Long-Term Survival for Homesteaders… Natural Healing Secrets You Need to Know… […]

What Is Two Story Farming?

Originally hailing from the Mediterranean, two story farming is a sustainable and efficient way to multitask on your farm or homestead. It is essentially what it sounds, farming on two “stories”. Only this isn’t in a structure, like the visions of modern urban farms of the future. Two story farming combines agriculture with raising livestock, in a very cool way. Traditionally, farmers use trees as the “upper story” of the two story concept. Carob, olive oil, or some other tree, is grown above an area in which pigs, cattle, or goats roam, allowed to nourish themselves on whatever is cast […]

How to Buy a Rabbit Starter Stock

Rabbits are a great animal to raise on a homestead. They don’t take up much space, they breed very efficiently, are affordable to feed, and their meat is delicious. Since one of the biggest appeals of raising rabbits is how quickly and easily they reproduce, you will need to get yourself set up with what’s called a starter stock. These will be the first rabbits you buy, that will go on to reproduce and build your herd. Rabbit Breeders To find your first rabbits, you’ll have to find someone who’s already selling them. A great place to look at first is a state […]

How to Get Free Blueberry Plants (Video)

It’s just the right time to plant blueberries, but what if you don’t want to spring for some starts? Or perhaps you’ve left a box of blueberries in your fridge for too long and are wondering if you can find some way to use them? You’re in luck. This video walks us through a very useful and easy technique to harvest the seeds from leftover blueberry plants so you can grow some yourself this year! Check it out: If you enjoyed this, you might also like…. Long-Term Survival for Homesteaders… Natural Healing Secrets You Need to Know… Effective Primal Diet Hacks…

What Is The Roadkill List?

Have you ever thought about eating roadkill? Now, before you start to think the idea is crazy, we aren’t talking about stalking the roadways and searching for animals that have been hit. Instead, you can get on a road kill list. This type of list is often available through park departments and highway departments, and it works very simply. Animals in rural areas, along the highways, and even in the suburbs tend to cross roads during their travels. This applies to all animals, but the ones that can be most problematic tend to be deer, and in some areas in […]

Building a Tiny Home

We recently posted an article on the tiny house movement, and I wanted to elaborate a bit more on what it takes to actually build yourself a tiny house. This is one of the biggest appeals of tiny houses, of course, that the initial building materials can be cheap, the construction easy. Many people are able to do it themselves, even if they don’t have a whole lot of construction experience. You can use foraged, repurposed, or discounted materials, and make it your own. All these factors contribute significantly to reducing the overall cost of a tiny home, so it’s […]

Are You Ready for Livestock?

Raising livestock is one of the great appeals of homesteading. If you’ve just bought your own land or have plans to, or have considered raising goats or chickens in your backyard, you should be careful not to get too far ahead of yourself. The prospect of raising livestock is so appealing, the decision to dive into serious animal husbandry is no small consideration. Here are some important factors of making this big decision: Space Do you really have the room? A lot of animals need much more space than you’d think. Most animals simply won’t thrive if kept in a […]

Dandelion Jelly Recipe

Dandelions are so useful! You can use the leaves, flowers, and roots for all kinds of nutritional and medicinal benefits. However, it’s not all leafy greens and home remedies! You can make a deliciously sweet jelly with it, too, that’s great to use in place of jelly, jam, or honey to top toast or sweets. The first step is to collect your dandelions. You will need 4 cups of just the flowers, so it’s actually easiest to simply pick the flowers off the stems when gathering them, rather than just cutting the whole stem and having to go through […]

Slow Cooker vs. Instant Pot (Video)

I have been hearing so much hype about the Instant Pot lately, and I wanted to see what all the buzz was all about. I have got to tell you, I’m itching to get one of these myself after watching this video! Slow cookers are great, especially for things like bone broth or chili, but Instant Pots can cook both quickly and slowly, which is super cool. Regular pressure cookers are great, especially for off-grid energy situations, so I could see an Instant Pot being a real boon to many homesteaders! Check it out, I bet you’ll want one too: […]

18 Ways to Become Food Independent

The ultimate goal of homesteading for many is to be completely self-sufficient, and entirely food independent. There’s nothing as empowering as growing and making your own. While getting 100% of your food from your own land might be setting one’s sights pretty high, there’s nothing wrong with aiming for it! The thing is, while most people will always rely on at least some outside sources for their food (even homesteaders back in the day did, too!), any degree of self-sufficiency you can achieve is a step in the right direction. If you are wondering what would be involved in having a […]

The Tiny House Movement: Is It For You?

The tiny house movement, which has gained a lot of traction among those wishing to live more simply, self-sufficiently, or simply economically. It is essentially exactly what it sounds like. More and more people are opting to live in small, or rather, tiny houses, often off-grid or on a homestead as well. The idea is simple. Less stuff means less energy cost, a more minimalist lifestyle, and a simpler life. Sometimes, owners are motivated by the incredibly cheap building costs, often constructing them by hand, other times, it’s the cheap energy costs of powering, heating, and cooling a significantly smaller space. They […]

Become a Better Homesteader Using These 4 Tips

When it comes to homesteading, there is no such thing as knowing too much or working too hard. Yet, many people want to get into this lifestyle without truly understanding what it means or by looking for shortcuts. Instead of trying to find the “easy” way to be a homesteader, you need to find ways that you can become a better homesteader. The life is not always easy, but it can be extremely rewarding. The following are a few tips that will help you to get into the right mindset and to make sure homesteading for the long haul is […]

Tips for Freezing Produce at Home (Infographic)

As you are planting your spring garden, make sure you have a plan for how to use up all the delicious produce your garden will yield! Or, if you’re getting ready for the farmer’s market season to start up again and would like a quick and easy way to preserve the delicious in-season produce you can get there, consider freezing! Freezing is a simple and fast way to preserve produce to easily reuse when needed, but you’ll want to make sure you’re doing it right! We put together this infographic to use as a guide for how to freeze produce […]

10 Powerful Plants That Repel Mosquitoes

While I’m thrilled for warm weather to finally return, I’m not as excited about the flying pests that come with it. As spring marches on and the land is replenished with rainfall, potential hotspots for mosquitoes are developing. In addition to checking your property for areas where water is allowed to pool (your mosquitoes will use these as their own personal birthing centers), you can take safe steps to prevent infestation with these naturally-repellent plants! Citronella Grass/Lemongrass is the source of citronella oil that is used in many commercial insect repellent products like citronella candles and tiki torches. It can […]

Cold Canning vs Water Bath vs Pressure Canning

When considering canning as an option to preserve produce from your garden, which method should you choose? You may find that each method (pickling, hot water bath, and pressure) yields different benefits suitable for different veggies or products. Cold canning is fast, easy, and great for short-term storage. We pickle cucumbers, squash, peppers, and many other veggies. Water Bath Canning gets up to boiling temperature which works great with high acid vegetables like tomatoes. However most vegetables do not have a high enough pH to can with this method without adding an acid source. Pressure Canning gets your jar’s internal […]