Onions
Deep dishes, tacos, rice bowls, roasts—no matter what dish you think of, onions will surely be a tasty part of it. But how amazing it would be if those onions came straight from your own garden. How cool is that? Onions are not only a kitchen staple but also easy to...
DIY Greenhouse (With Step-By-Step Pictures)
Every homesteader knows that building a DIY greenhouse is a fantastic way to extend your growing season while shielding plants from harsh weather. It creates a controlled environment for growing everything from vegetables to flowers, allowing you to grow year-round....
Survival Crops You Should Add To Your Garden Before It’s Too Late
Food prices are skyrocketing faster than my blood pressure. The thought of not feeding your family? It’s gut-wrenching. That’s gotta stop. By growing the right survival crops, you can do exactly that, and secure your family’s food supply in the process. These crops...
Why You Should Use Hot Pepper On Your Plants And Vegetables
Frustrated with countless DIY pest repellents that just don’t work? Or you might be concerned about the use of synthetic pesticides on food and are actively seeking natural alternatives. Then, try using hot peppers on your plants and vegetables. Using hot peppers in...
Plant These Veggies In Fall For An Early Spring Harvest
As the leaves turn brown and everything starts to get a little chillier, many of we gardeners sigh over the changing of the seasons. It's not that we don't love the colorful trees as much as everyone else does; it's that we know our gardens will soon be tired and...
Wild Edibles Native Americans Survived On During Fall
Native Americans spent thousands of years farming, gathering, and hunting for their food across this continent. Today, we'll take a look at some very easy-to-find and gather nibbles that you can enjoy on the trail or at home. Your pick. Let's get started. Grains Your...
Gardening Myths That Are Actually True
Ever heard of regrowing veggies from scraps or using mesh bags to repel pests? These might sound like myths, but they’re surprisingly effective. So next time you come across a gardening "myth," give it a shot—you might be surprised by the results. Coffee Grounds...
Spiders
Spiders play an important role in controlling pests naturally and maintaining the overall healthy environment for gardens. However, overpopulation may trap moisture, block sunlight, and prey on other pollinators that are essential for plant growth. Hence, to create a...
How to Build a Smokehouse In Your Backyard (with Pictures)
One of the best and tastiest ways to conserve meat is to smoke it. The meat is delicious, and if you keep it in a cool, dry place, it can last up to a year and sometimes even longer. Here's how to build a smokehouse in your backyard. The system used is pretty simple....
DIY Stove Made From Used Tire Rims
I had two used tire rims and I decided to make a stove. They have enough holes for the fire to breathe well, and I could easily create an opening to fuel the fire. The easiest thing to do was to put the two rims on top of each other. This gave me enough height and...
DIY Mini Root Cellar For Your Backyard In Less Than Two Hours
Once upon a time, root cellars were the only way people had to preserve their food. These wonderful cold-storage areas became less common when refrigerators became affordable. Houses were no longer automatically built with a root cellar beneath them or nearby. A root...
Civil War Recipes That We Will All Be Eating Again Soon
The Civil War was a horrible time in American history, brought on by enormous debate surrounding multiple issues between the northern and southern regions of the country, but primarily slavery and the issues caused by slavery. Brother fought brother, cousins retreated...
Canning Recipes Grandma Made Every Fall
People have been canning for generations. Whether it be in true cans or glass jars, once we figured out how to preserve food, we were doing very, very well for ourselves. Today, we'll look at a few older types of canning: ones that you may not remember from your...
8 Foods You Should Never Keep in a Fridge
Storing food in the refrigerator to keep it fresh is not always a good choice. While some foods, like carrots and cheese, last longer in the fridge, that's not the case for all. The cold temperature and humidity inside the refrigerator can reduce the nutritional value...
Signs We’ll Soon Be Eating Depression-Era Foods
I remember my grandma's stories about the Great Depression - tales of scraping by on whatever food they could get their hands on. Never thought I'd see anything like that in my lifetime. But lately? I'm not so sure. "Out of stock." Three words that have become my...
Dutch Oven Recipes Cowboys Survived On
Life as a cowboy in the Old West was tough, with few comforts. Cattle drives often kept cowboys on the trail for a month or more, and even on the ranch, they lived in simple bunkhouses with basic cooking facilities. Long days of hard physical work in all kinds of...
This Common Mistake Can Ruin Your Entire Food Stockpile
Food stockpiling forms the backbone of homesteading and emergency preparedness. Yet, several critical errors can render even the most meticulously planned food storage strategy ineffective. Today, we’ll delve into these mistakes, with a particular focus on the most...
How to Spot Spoiled Eggs Without Breaking a Shell
Being able to spot spoiled eggs without cracking them open is a handy skill for homesteaders, survivalists, or anyone living off the grid. It helps you avoid wasting food, keeps your meals safe, and makes your eggs last longer. But can you spot a spoiled egg without...
10 Expired Foods That Will Help You Outlive A Crisis
The storm rages outside. Power's out. Roads are blocked. Your perfectly tended garden? Decimated. Panic starts to set in as you wonder how you'll feed your family. But wait. You’ve got some dusty cans and boxes lurking in the back of your pantry. Yep. Those ones with...
Power Outage: How To Survive The First 7 Days
This 7-day blackout scenario draws from a real experience with a prolonged power outage. It occurred during a period when supply chain issues and labor shortages made it difficult for utility companies to fix the electrical grid. Here's how to survive the first 7 days...
Never Feed This To Your Livestock
The sound of my prize cow struggling to breathe at 3 AM still haunts me. One simple feeding error – wild cherry leaves in her hay – nearly cost me my best milker and years of careful breeding. Whatever you do, never feed this to your livestock. That night changed how...
How to Keep Looters Off Your Property After a Disaster
Something that often follows a disaster is another form of disaster. Looting has become all too common in disaster areas, especially when authorities have evacuated them. Worse, many homes and buildings sustain damage, giving looters easy access to property and...
How to Get Running Water When the Next Hurricane Hits
Though food and shelter are of exceptional importance during a natural disaster, we cannot live for long without water. It is a simple fact of life and, when you are faced with no water at all, an extremely irritating one. We spent two weeks with no running water due...
Household Items People Repurposed During the Great Depression
During the Great Depression, when times were incredibly hard, people got by by repurposing everyday household items. Homesteaders can take inspiration from the resourcefulness of the Depression era. Reusing items creatively can be a lifesaver in emergencies or tough...
How to Become Invisible Wherever You Live
An open yard is an open invitation. Regardless of the situation, an open yard provides easy access to all doors, windows, and just about anything you keep, store shelter around your house and yard. Here's how to become invisible wherever you live. A fence is an easy...
I Wish I’d Known This Before Building A Root Cellar
Before the days of refrigeration and year-round access to fresh vegetables, folks had to figure out how to store their harvest to last through the year. This is what I wish I had known before building a root cellar in my backyard. For many, the answer was a root...
DIY Cowboy Cough Syrup with Whiskey
There are four types of cough: dry, wet, allergy, and asthmatic. You've probably gone through at least one of these. The Wild West cowboys had a simple yet efficient way to treat a cough before it got worse. Have you ever heard about cowboy cough syrup with whiskey?...
