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...
The Homestead Greenhouse
By Charles Sanders
Issue #67 • January/February, 2001
For those of us living close to the land, the production of a dependable and healthful food supply is a primary objective. To that end, some consideration will...
Garden Spaces for Small Places
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #116 • March/April, 2009
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.
Minnie Aumonier
Yes, and if your budget is lean and you want something green, there's...
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...
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,...
Plant Your Irish Potatoes This Fall or Winter
By Robert L. Williams
Issue #48 • November/December, 1997
My family has made a practice of planting Irish potatoes in the fall rather than in the early spring. We tried it both ways for many years...
Vermicomposting — Raise Worms to Consume Waste, Amend Soil, and Earn Income
By Rebekah L. Cowell
Photos by Amanda Egdorf-Sand
Issue #124 • July/August, 2010
Vermicomposting takes composting to another level using Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worms) to break down organic matter such...
No Worrying About Fire Blight with Orient and Kieffer Pears
By Alice B. Yeager
Issue #52 • July/August, 1998
Everyone likes a good success story, and if I were called upon to name the most successful tree in our small orchard I'd have to say it's...
Propagating Grapes
By Sylvia Gist
Issue #107 • September/October, 2007
As a kid in western South Dakota, I enjoyed picking wild grapes and using the delightful juice they produced, so when I eventually acquired property in Montana, I...
Growing Productive Strawberries
By Edna Manning
Issue #86 • March/April, 2004
Here on the Canadian prairies, I have found strawberries to be perhaps one of the most delicious, least-demanding and productive fruits I can grow in our Zone 2...
How to Grow Potatoes
By Alice B. Yeager
Issue #97 • January/February, 2006
Potato plants need plenty of sunshine, a well drained soil, and no weed or grass interference. Ideal soil is a loose sandy loam with plenty of humus...
Your Manure Pile — For Fuel, Fertilizer, and Maybe Even Improved Water Quality, You...
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #87 • May/June, 2004
It's been well over a decade now since I first heard my friend Pete voice his amazement at my practice of spreading animal manure as a fertilizer....
The $1 Garden
By Jonathan Nunan
Issue #122 • March/April, 2010
The dollar garden is simple in concept: buy as many seeds as you can for one dollar and harvest as much food as possible from the plants you...
Currants and Gooseberries
By Sylvia Gist
Issue #155 • September/October, 2015
Currants and gooseberries all belong to the genus Ribes (pronounced "rye-bees"). There are varieties of currants and gooseberries native to Europe and North America, along with some developed...
A Small Space Yields a Big Crop of Garlic
By Howard Tuckey
Issue #131 • September/October, 2011
In less than an hour last fall, I tilled up a 4x8 foot garden bed and planted 250 seed cloves of Chesnok and Russian Red garlic. I've been...
Grow Open-Pollinated Tomatoes
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #166 • July/August, 2017
Nearly all of us homesteaders grow tomatoes in our gardens. Tomatoes are hugely valuable as a homestead crop. After all, they give us a wide variety of products.
Many...
