homesteading

I have a pretty decent seed supply. There were a few things I wanted to add, and wasn't about to wait for spring. I particularly wanted some Blue Hubbard winter squash. Most of the retailers were sold out. I stumbled on Everwild. I am very impressed with their prices on larger bulk seed packs...

It seems to be that it is pretty easy to prep for a year or two - referring to acquiring and storing food. Fats, in particular are the challenge for lts food. For a long term scenario it is more practical to consider starting a homestead? - maybe not be 100% self sufficient but mix the...

I have a Brown Turkey Fig tree that is sprouting from the roots. Will it bear figs, or is it some type of root stock? A few weeks ago I dropped by a farm supply store to get some seeds. They had a pitiful looking fig tree that the top had died and it was sprouting from the base of the tree. I...

This year I drove several large fertilizer spikes in the ground around some of my fruit trees - fig, pear, plum and apple. Reviews on Amazon are good, but has anyone here used them? My fruit trees have not been doing that great so I decided to go all out this year. A week ago I sprayed them...

A few questions about rabbits: 1) Has anyone tried free range rabbit ranching with a rabbit hutch and rabbit run but with the rabbits released during the day to forage on grass? 2) Are rabbits at serious risk of predation in a semi-rural area during daylight hours? We do have coyotes as well as...

"Back to Basics" by Abigail Gehring is an encyclopedic book covering many topics of relevance to preppers. It's basically a dumbed down version of the Encyclopedia of Country Living with pretty pictures. I suppose this isn't just a coincidence since Ms. Gehring is now the editor of the...

This massive book of nearly 1,000 pages was compiled by one of the early members of the homesteading movement (Carla Emery). She lived on a homestead near Moscow, ID from the early 1970s until the 2000s. Ms. Emery died in the 2000s and the encyclopedia is now managed by a lady with homes in...

Looking to network and set up/join a mutual assistance group in the central/northern California area. My wife an I are in the Sacramento area. We don't have children and are outdoor enthusiasts. We both work in the medical field for a major medical group. The purpose of this group would be to...

Walking to the back of the property to check on the garden, looked to the back, and several of my neighbors cows were there. My dogs saw the cows, and the fun began. A couple of my dogs are cur dogs, which seem to take great joy in herding cattle. Sometimes my dogs slip into my neighbors...

Some people pant their potatoes whole, while others cut their potatoes into sections. When I buy my seed potatoes, I look for eh smallest potatoes in the bin. Say no larger than my fist. Then I cut the potatoes in half and let them dry before planting. Sometimes the store does not have a...

Which state is best to homestead and be self-sufficient?

Its been a long while...ish. But with spring right around the corner I thought I would write a bit about the importance of compost and different methods and tools for making great compost quickly. Compost in its simplest description is a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter...

Anyone interested to learn homesteading skills in simple steps?:)

What is a prepsteader? It is someone who combines prepping and homesteading. However, the complete answer is a little more complicated. To see the whole picture we need to go back to at least the 1970s, or maybe the early 1980s. What we consider prepping today was everyday life during the...

This past week has been perfect weather for the sugar shacks, but most were caught unprepared, as this is so early. I don't expect that spring is here to stay, so they will mostly likely get another shot at it, but it is regrettable when you loose a week of prime weather. Several friends...

Potatoes were supposed to be planted two weeks ago, but the garden area is one step from being a marsh. If I were to put the tractor in the field, it would probably get stuck. If I were to use the tiller, I would be tilling mud. Here in southeast Texas, we have barely gone 3 or 4 days without...

How can prepping be a game? Because sometimes you lose, and sometimes you win. The issue is: To try. Get out there and try something. Some people see prepping as stockpiling, or going to the gun range. It is so much more than that. Plant a garden. Go fishing. Go hiking. Go camping...

Three of my hens are sitting on eggs. One of them hatched out a chick. What gets me: Two of the hens are Barred Rocks, which rarely go broody. One is an Australorp. which has a reputation of going broody. My first set of chickens was back around 1987 or 1988. My granny kept chickens, but...

Let's hear some tips for changing tractor implements. The sway bars, one side is adjustable, the other side is not. Well, not really adjustable, just it can be adjusted to level the implements. I connect the side that is not adjustable first. Pull the tractor forward or backward until the...

Is genetic diversity in your seed stockpile a consideration? I know a lot of people here save their seeds, and that is great. However, wouldn't using the same cross pollinated seeds over and over create a genetic bottle neck? To prevent this, I try to buy my seeds from various sources. In...