Tomatoes are a double-whammy for growing on your own homestead:  First, homegrown tomatoes are a healthier, more nutrient-rich option compared to store-bought. Tomatoes that you buy at the grocery store are typically harvested well before they have ripened because they have to withstand transportation to the store. They aren’t given time to fully ripen on the vine to the point they’re at their nutritional peak. Second, your taste buds are going to instantly notice the difference between homegrown and store-bought tomatoes. I’ll be honest; not everything you grow at home produces a notice ..read more

Are you ready to transform your garden to set yourself up for a successful spring? Let me introduce you to what I like to call “The Fall Garden Flip.”  Note that when setting up your garden, I recommend referencing techniques from The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman as well as The Market Gardener by JM Fortier. I took what I learned in these books and adapted it for homestead use, creating a 50-foot by 21-foot garden plot. This footprint allows you to have seven beds measuring 30” wide by 50 feet long each, with a foot path between each bed for easy access for maintenance and harvest ..read more

Before you begin scything, learning about the effects of using a scythe will be helpful. Keep reading to learn how to use a scythe and properly keep your blade sharp with a whetstone.  What Is a Scythe A Scythe is a handheld agricultural tool used for harvesting crops and mowing grass. It has a long curved blade with a long handle. A scythe consists of four main pieces, the snath (handle), the blade, the tang (which holds the blade to the snath), and two nibs (the short handles that attach to the snath). There are also two different types of scythes: American and European. A scythe is a ..read more

This basic recipe is made with fresh milk before the cream has been separated and does not require equipment like an Instant Pot, yogurt maker or a heating pad. Follow this simple tutorial, and you will never want to find yourself without homemade yogurt again! Why We Make Yogurt at Home Our milk cow, Flossie is a breed of cow ideal for milking, and because we use the calf-sharing method, we only have to milk our cow once a day.   Even with a large family, we often have extra milk. One of our favorite ways to use extra milk is to make homemade yogurt. It’s quick and easy to do, and ..read more

By choosing the right breed and pasture together, you too can reduce your time and cost and increase your sheep’s and pasture’s health.  Greg Judy – Master Sheep Farmer Greg Judy is a master sheep producer so passionate about healthy farms and healthy farmers that he has written two books, No Risk Ranching and Comeback Farms.  His grazing operation spans 16 farms (four owned and twelve leased), specializing in maximizing financial resources and working with the land to raise his livestock naturally. Committed to sharing what he has learned, Greg welcomed me to his ranch to learn how ..read more

In this article, I’m going to give you ten steps you can take to grow MOST of your own food, working less than ten hours a week. From dreaming big and making plans to saving the harvest for winter. I’ll teach you the tricks I use at every step of the way to make this dream a reality. Let’s jump right in… Step #1 – Identify Your Goals and Limitations Goals How do you identify your goals? Write down what you want to grow and prioritize it. I suggest starting with chicken and veggies. Just grow the things you like. Grow things that you’re already buying that are expensive. Now, prioritize eac ..read more

Whether you make your own soil-blocking recipe or use a potting mix from the store, making soil blocks for seed starting is a welcome cost-saving task. Why I Make Soil Blocks Soil blocking was made popular in the United States by Eliot Coleman after writing his book The New Organic Grower and designing his soil-blocking tool. Soil blocking has proven to be the best method I have found for seed propagation. Seed blocking is more sustainable than traditional seed starting methods, eliminating the need for plastic or the more expensive biodegradable seed pots. After the initial purchase of the s ..read more

I had the pleasure of interviewing Shawn and Beth Dougherty, who are a wealth of information when it comes to all things homesteading, but more specifically, those first steps of what to do on a homestead. Shawn and Beth are constantly reminding me that on a homestead, whatever can go wrong probably will. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you did it wrong! This homesteading life is a process. Embrace it. Take your time. Get acquainted with the land and see how it changes over a year’s time. The Dougherty’s biggest piece of advice when on a new property is to let the land tell you how to homes ..read more

With a bit of preparation and tips on properly stunning your pig, you can proceed with knowing how to butcher a pig at home, confident that you can dispatch your pig correctly. These simple steps are not hard and will ensure a humane slaughter, meat for your family and a safe environment. Using Guns on our Homestead Guns are a fantastic tool for the homestead for protection from predators and harvesting our meat. We have several small children around our home, so it’s essential that we set an excellent example of handling and operating guns safely. I always say my pigs have one bad day here o ..read more

They are experts at helping people utilize the land they already have or giving advice on getting and using new land. The Doughertys have been doing this for decades for others and themselves, so they have first-hand knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. They have the best information you need when acquiring a homestead. In this post, we’ll walk through what you need to know before buying and starting a homestead, what the land will teach you, what you should avoid when buying a homestead property, and most importantly, what you should look for in a homestead. You can also get more inform ..read more