Use Non-Hybrid Seeds and Save Big Bucks in This Year’s Garden
By Jackie Clay
Issue #51 • May/June, 1998
Every person who is striving for self-reliance should, and most do, plant a garden from which to raise a good portion of their own food. But how many...
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...
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...
Tomatoes, the Essential Garden Crop
By Charles Sanders
Issue #123 • May/June, 2010
Tomatoes are one of the most favored of all garden crops. They originated in South America, but in the early 1500s were taken back to Italy. Today, many...
A New Use for Old Tires: A Garden Using Tires
By Charles Sanders
Issue #98 • March/April, 2006
There are mountains of old tires out there. Americans keep on rolling and tires keep on wearing out. Every year there is almost one scrap tire created for...
Grow Your Own Dishrags
By Alice B. Yeager
Photos by James O. Yeager
Issue #85 • January/February, 2004
Some of us are thrifty beyond measure, even growing our own dishrags. None of those flimsy, store bought cotton things for us. Our...
Build an Old-Fashioned Hotbed and Start Your Seeds in Style
By Roy Martin
Issue #104 • March/April, 2007
A hotbed is a miniature greenhouse that is heated to protect new seedlings from cold. The hotbed differs from a cold frame in that it has an internal...
Gardening in the Desert Using Only Rainwater
By Joe Mooney
Issue #147 • May/June, 2014
I've always found the use of seasonal rains by native peoples very fascinating. From the diversion of floodwaters in earthen berms to irrigation via "aquaduct," it seemed incredible...
Growing Strawberries
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #162 • November/December, 2016
As you read this, the wind may well be howling and the snow piling deep, and you're likely curled up next to the woodstove with a mug of...
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...
For Extra Production, Try Mound Gardening
By Edward Love Johnson
Issue #44 • March/April, 1997
I began experimenting with mound gardening several years ago, due to limited garden space. Then as time went by, I found other reasons (or should I say...
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...
Gleaning — An Old Tradition Made New
By Daniel Furtney
Issue #147 • May/June, 2014
Gleaning. You may remember the term from Sunday School or your Bible studies. In the book of Ruth, "gleaning" refers to poor people being allowed to follow a...
Here’s a Mighty Creative Way to Protect Your Plants from Animals
By Joy Lamb
Issue #39 • May/June, 1996
A huge brown beast stared at me as I drove through our apple orchard toward the house. I parked, walked quickly into the house, and said to my...
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...
Victory Gardens
By Alice B. Yeager
Issue #54 • November/December, 1998
There have been very few times in our nation's history when "We, the people" have banded together so fiercely as we did during World War II. We...





























