Do Cows Have to Be Pregnant to Produce Milk? The Straight Answer
This is one of the questions I get asked most often by people visiting my homestead, usually while they're watching me milk a cow that very clearly...
Calendula Oil – How I Make It and Use It
Calendula is one of the first things I planted when I started my homestead garden, and it's never left. It reseeds itself, it keeps blooming from...
Why Your Garden Wilts in July Even When You Water Every Day
It’s such a beautiful summer day and first thing in the morning, you walk into the garden to see what’s happening over there. Everything seems fine,...
Seaweed Fertilizer – The Complete Guide to Feeding Your Garden with Ocean Nutrients
The first time I hauled a feed sack of storm-tossed kelp up from the tideline, my neighbor asked if I'd lost my mind. Two months later, when my...
7 Everyday Things That Attract Flies (Get Rid of Them ASAP)
Flies are by far one of the most annoying thing about summer. No matter where you are, inside the house or outside in the garden, flies are a...
Cattle vs Cows: What Is the Actual Difference?
Most people use cattle and cows interchangeably, and honestly, most of the time it does not matter. But the moment you start planning to bring...
How to Make Homemade Greek Yogurt
Yogurt is good food. In fact, it’s ranked as one of the superfoods. It’s an excellent source of protein, calcium, phosphorus, Vitamin B12, and B2....
Sauerkraut Soup – The Best Way to Use Up a Homestead Kraut Harvest
Every fall, homesteaders end up with the same happy problem: a crock, a bucket, or a shelf full of jars packed with sauerkraut and no plan for using...
Glyphosate Herbicide Weed Killer – What You Need to Know
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in many of the most widely used weed killers on the market, most famously Roundup. It is a broad spectrum, non...
What July Says About Your Homestead
You might think the big work is done by July. You’ve planted your vegetables, the animals are settled, and all you have to do now is just water and...
How Long Do Chicken Eggs Take to Hatch? A Complete Incubation Guide
If you are raising chickens on a homestead, hatching your own eggs is one of the most rewarding things you can do. It closes the full loop of...
This Unusual Trick Preserves Soup for 6+ Months
If you’re like me and you put up enough food to feed a small army, then you might be struggling with this problem: your pantry, root cellar, and...
Spider Pest Control – A Complete Guide to Managing Spiders Indoors, Outdoors, and on the Homestead
Spiders occupy a genuinely complicated position in the homesteader's world. They are, by any practical measure, some of your most valuable allies...
How to Get Rid of Poison Ivy for Good, Without Chemicals
You pulled it last summer and you were sure you got it. Then this spring it came right back up along the fence line like nothing ever happened, and...
What to Grow in a Greenhouse – A Complete Homesteader’s Guide to Year-Round Production
A greenhouse changes what is possible on a homestead in ways that a good outdoor garden never quite can. You are no longer entirely at the mercy of...
Goat Hooves: Everything You Need to Know About Structure, Trimming, and Common Problems
If you keep goats, managing their hooves is one of the non-negotiable maintenance tasks that comes with the territory. Neglect it and you will have...
10 Fermentation Mistakes That Will Ruin the Whole Batch
The first time I made sauerkraut, I was so proud of myself, right up until I lifted the lid a week later. The whole crock was slimy and gray and...
How to Care for an Open Wound – A Complete Step-by-Step Guide
Knowing how to care for an open wound correctly is one of the most practical self-sufficiency skills you can have. Whether you are dealing with a...
Homemade Dish Soap – Recipes, Ingredients, and Everything You Need to Know
Every homesteader reaches a point where buying another plastic bottle of dish soap off the grocery shelf starts to feel wrong. It is one small...
How to Make Bricks at Home, Step by Step (4 Methods That Actually Work)
Paying store prices each time you want to edge a garden bed, line a fire pit, or shore up a wall makes no sense and I have some good news for you....
Amish vs Mormon – Two Self-Sufficient Lifestyles
When it comes to self-sufficiency in America, two communities stand above the rest: the Amish and the Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons....
Why Some Hens Lay Blue Eggs
The first time you reach into a nesting box and pull out a blue egg, you stop and stare. I did. It was sitting right there next to the usual brown...
Weed Killer Safe for Pets – The Complete Guide to Pet-Friendly Weed Control
If you have dogs or cats that spend time in the yard, choosing a weed killer is not just a gardening decision. It is a safety decision. Most...
Parchment Paper Substitute – 10 Real Alternatives That Work in the Kitchen
You are halfway through mixing a batch of cookies when you reach into the drawer and find an empty roll. No parchment paper. This happens more often...
9 Fruits You Can Grow from Cuttings
Maybe you’ve decided you want to grow fruits; after all, they are an amazing investment for self-sufficiency since you can make jams, can them, dry...
What Is a Homestead? The Complete Guide to Starting and Living the Homesteading Life
Somewhere between a backyard garden and a full working farm, the homestead occupies a unique space in modern life. It is a place built around...
Homemade Window Cleaner: Simple Recipes That Actually Work
Store-bought window cleaners cost more than they should, come in plastic bottles that go straight to the landfill, and are made from ingredients...
DIY Food-Generator in a Box
What if you could grow a whole season of food out of one big pot just by watering maybe twice a week? What if you never had to feed your plants and...
7 Seeds You Should Never Buy From a Big Box Store
Every year, the same thing happens. You walk into the local gardening store full of hope and preparing for the new garden, and there it is by the...
How to Use Cornstarch Around Your Homestead
You probably have a box of cornstarch sitting in your pantry right now, and you probably think it is only good for thickening gravy and pie...
Lactic Acid Fermentation – A Complete Guide for the Home Homesteader
Before refrigerators, before canning, before any of the modern food preservation systems we take for granted, people kept vegetables safe and...
These 7 Homesteading Skills Pay for Themselves in Under a Year
You probably already know the drill. You save seeds, you preserve the harvest, you keep a compost pile. These skills are the bread and butter of the...
