Self-reliance tips, rural living guides, and off-grid skills delivered weekly.
Unsubscribe anytime.
✓ You're in! Check your inbox to confirm.
When the storm hits and the power goes dark, you doubtless have prepared your homestead with a vast array of generators, battery-powered flashlights, and maybe even crank-powered variants. But what if the darkness lasts even longer? Read on for an easy way to may your own candles, to store away in case of emergency. Materials…
To those looking for this article and not finding it a week ago, my sincere apologies. A few things came up on the homestead requiring my immediate attention, and I am running a week behind schedule. That said, I’ve always heard a week late is better than never, so let’s jump right in on baking…
Sourdough bread–one of the oldest forms of our favorite, gluten-based snacks–has become something of a resurgent celebrity. Amidst the global pandemic, people of various interests and backgrounds suddenly found themselves with more time on their hands, and this tricky-but-delectable sandwich-component became a favorite new skill to develop. Of course, out on the homestead, the pandemic…
It’s no secret–the great outdoors get a lot less welcoming in the wintertime. When the seasons cold chases you indoors however, that doesn’t mean you must give up on fun projects and activities until spring! To the contrary, it’s a great time to work on stuff indoors, and the kitchen is always a cozy place…
As the temperatures drop nationwide, snow blankets the ground and Christmas approaches, folks all over are beginning to indulge in their favorite holiday traditions. For some, this is cheery fires and yule logs. Others cut evergreens to adorn with festive ornamentation. Still others decorate their whole houses in lights. But for many, it’s the simplest…
Have a few seeds left over from the growing season you’d like to preserve for next year? Turns out, you can actually save your seeds until conditions are again ripe for planting. Read on to find out how. Before we get started on particulars, its important to know some basics about the seeds you are…
There are all sorts of ways to cure meat, but most at some point require cold-storage to prevent rot. There’s salt curing, smoking, drying, and good old-fashioned freezing, among many others. With one method of curing however, you don’t need to worry quite so much about how quick you eat your meats, or where you…
If y’all couldn’t tell by my incessant postings about hunting and pumpkins, fall has arrived, and that means it’s time to batten down the hatches in preparation for winter. Once you’re done winterizing the camper, stacking those last bits of wood and trimming your figs however, there is still one last garden chore left to…
Have you heard of Chicken of the Woods? No, it’s not a dove, or even a turkey—it’s yet another vibrant, easily identifiable mushroom that will make a delicious addition to your table. Read on for how to identify this mushroom, as well as some great ways to prepare it. This large polypore is easy to…
A topic we’ve covered regularly on this site, though perhaps not regularly enough, is that of poultry. Probably the most common “gateway stock” for budding homesteaders, chickens are relatively simple to care for, easy to acquire, and can be used for either meat or eggs. Read on for the first in what will be an…
So there’s a precarious looking arbor sitting trunk-distance from your humble home. Or maybe you just need firewood. But before you start swinging that axe or pushing that saw, you may want to know a few actual methods for how to fell a tree. Read on for some tactics that may come in handy, when…
The weather has turned crisp, the leaves have begun their annual metamorphosis into fiery colors of red and orange, and your neighbor, Del, has the most stunning patch of pumpkins you’ve ever seen, yet again. Your kids envy this section of his garden, and eagerly wait for his go-ahead to select the year’s jack-o-lanterns. Even…
