Making Apple Cider with a Homemade Press

By Robert Van Putten Issue #170 • March/April, 2018 Apples are an important food resource for us. Every year we store hundreds of pounds in our root cellar where they will keep for up to six...

The Home Citrus Orchard

By Anita Evangelista Issue #81 • May/June, 2003 It may seem like an impossible dream if you live outside of southern Florida, California, or Texas, but you can grow a home "backyard" orchard of oranges, lemons,...

Grow some winter squash this year

By Lisa Nourse I love summertime — I love the green of the trees, the warm weather, and growing my own food. I especially love growing vegetables that will store well and provide that great...

Swiss Chard — The Leaf Vegetable That Keeps on Giving!

By Raymond Nones Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 For years every spring I planted spinach in my garden. For those who have never tasted home grown spinach, there is a world of difference between its taste...

You Can Make Your Own Fertilizers

By Christopher and Dolores Lynn Nyerges Issue #44 • March/April, 1997 For some people, home gardening is an expensive pursuit, which seems a bit backward to us. At one time, people gardened because home-grown produce was...

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...

Sweet Potato Greens

By Tim Scullen Issue #168 • November/December, 2017 By now, you’ve no doubt figured out how good chard, spinach, and kale are for you. But did you know that sweet potato leaves are loaded with vitamins...

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...

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...

Garden Seeds — A Great Winter Pastime

By Jackie Clay Issue #67 • January/February, 2001 Start your garden this year while the snow is still on the ground. I start all of my own plants from seeds. One of my favorite winter pastimes...

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...

Elderberries — Hospitality, Health, And Beauty

By Gail Butler Issue #124 • July/August, 2010 When friends stop by for a visit I like to offer them a hospitable and healthful libation of elderberry cordial. When served in a small aperitif glass or...

Saving Seeds

By Jackie Clay Issue #129 • May/June, 2011 I go through dozens of garden seed catalogs in preparation for each year's new (and better!) garden. I have a lot of "old reliable" varieties that I grow...

Clover — From Livestock Forage to Medicinal Tea, This Humble Plant is One of...

By Eugene Mitchell Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 Whether young or old, lying in the grass and searching for four-leafed clovers is timeless fun. Sometimes they're so elusive, like the leprechaun, it seems they don't exist....

Nut Trees on Your Homestead

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #149 • September/October, 2014 While growing up in Detroit, we had no nut trees in our yard (though we did have seedlings before I left home). That didn't stop my parents, though....

Blueberry Cash Crop

By Ed Mashburn Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 My almost two-year-old grandson loves blueberries. Put a bowl of those round blue jewels in front of him, and he's a happy little man. He's not alone. Many...