Exotic Plants for the Homestead
By Corcceigh Green
Issue #85 • January/February, 2004
Isn't it funny how even the things we step on while walking on the lawn have value? I learned this first hand last summer as I discovered some...
Save Time and Energy with the Fenced Chicken Coop/Garden
By John Silveira
Issue #44 • March/April, 1997
My engineer father was not fond of wasting time or energy. He was always searching for a better, more efficient way to perform chores, especially chores that reoccurred...
Gardening the Year ‘Round
By Alice B. Yeager
Website Exclusive • September, 2006
Normally, we gardeners tend to make plans to begin planting our gardens during early spring. We select vegetables such as garden peas, lettuce, mustard, radishes, onions, and...
Gardening Tips and Tricks
By Charles Sanders
Issue #99 • May/June, 2006
Gardeners are an ingenious lot. Trial and error, time, study, observation, and experience all help us to come up with ideas that result in better gardens, more produce,...
How to Grow Great Carrots
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #153 • May/June, 2015
Carrots are an old-time homesteader favorite. They can be frozen, canned, dehydrated, or simply stored in a cool location.
They are nutritious, too, being a great source of beta...
Rotten Luck: The Skinny on Composting
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #141 • May/June, 2013
For much of human history, people have tried to prevent things from rotting. Literally every food preservation method we've come up with in the past few thousand years...
Companion Planting
By Beverly Mettot
Issue #81 • May/June, 2003
Companion planting is nothing new, and yet in recent years it has made an extraordinary comeback, not only in fooling those pesky pests who thrive on fruits and...
Build a Heated Germination Bed
By Charles Sanders
Issue #92 • March/April, 2005
Many of us who garden have learned the benefits of starting our own vegetable and flower plants. There are several benefits to having a spot to start your...
Home-Grown Eggs
By Allen Easterly
Issue #165 • May/June, 2017
Maybe you’ve thought about keeping a few chickens for their eggs but didn’t want to be awakened at 4:00 AM by a rooster singing “cock-a-doodle-doo.” At this time...
The Potato Hole
By Sylvia Gist
Issue #137 • September/October, 2012
Carrots go in sand in the green pail and potatoes can be sorted by type into plastic mesh bags.
We had talked of putting in a regular root cellar,...
Want More Fruit From Less Space? Espalier Your Trees!
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #79 • January/February, 2003
After originating in the semi-arid regions of the middle east, espaliering (is-'pal-yer-ing) became a commonly employed fruit tree growing method of the Greco-Roman world. Later, during the...
Growing Microgreens
By Lisa Nourse
Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019
The small town where I live has two small grocery stores and getting a good variety of organic produce during the winter months is difficult. I find myself...
Growing Potatoes in Straw
By Habeeb Salloum
Issue #100 • July/August, 2006
Virtually unknown to people in other parts of the world, the inhabitants in the Northern European countries have for hundreds of years grown potatoes above ground in straw...
Build a Keyhole Garden
By Katelynn Bond
Issue #152 • March/April, 2015
One of the hazards of living on the side of a mountain in northern New Mexico is that I live on a rock. And I don't mean the...
Graft Your Own Designer Fruit Trees
By Jackie Clay
Issue #121 • January/February, 2010
Although I've been homesteading for more than forty years, there's always something new to learn. (I figure that if I don't learn at least one thing every day,...
Fermenting Chicken Feed
By Melissa Souza
Issue #174 • November/December, 2018
On our homestead, we eat yogurt, kombucha (fermented tea), sauerkraut, and kimchi to add probiotics to our diet. These beneficial bacteria promote good digestive health, strengthen the immune...
